


Forbidden Arcana: The Jester

by DiamondNova



Category: Persona 5, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Action, Depression, Drama, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Romance, Secrets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:21:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 76,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23052388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiamondNova/pseuds/DiamondNova
Summary: When Akira Kurusu suffers a cruel twist of fate, he looks for help. What he doesn't know, is that the help will come from someone totally unexpected. Soon, the leader of the Phanton Thieves will learn that some relationships are not meant to be. Specially those that lead to chaos.
Relationships: Grace "Dokkaebi" Nam/Kurusu Akira, Grace "Dokkaebi" Nam/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	1. There are stairs ahead

**Author's Note:**

> Crosspost from FF.net. My first work that exceeded the 10000 word mark and one that was born one day when I realized that Akira and Grace had too much in common to not meet somehow.

Salvation often comes to us in unexpected ways. For Akira Kurusu, to name an example, salvation came in the shape of a somewhat peculiar woman.

Wearing a beanie, big round glasses, some stripes of white adorning her raven black hair, twin braids and a broad smile on her face, the woman presented herself as the most uncanny source of help the young thief had ever seen.

“Couldn’t help but hear about your phone troubles.” She explained. “Also the fact that you were furiously pacing around in this underground mall whilst muttering to yourself gave you away pretty easily.”

Akira blinked, flabbergasted by the sudden appearance and the explanation given. He opened his mouth to mutter a response, but she interrupted again.

“I can help you. No problem.” Another smile. “Oh, I’m Grace, by the way.”

Ah, finally a name. Now the thing was progressing.

“Grace…-san.” the teenager muttered. “It’s extremely kind of you, but I don’t think I can impose my problems onto you”

“Pssh, nonsense” The black haired woman replied. “You look like you really need a hand, and believe me, I can help you. Besides, something tells me you‘re reaching your wits end.”

Akira took a deep breath. She wasn’t wrong, at all. He had spent all afternoon and the day before that trying to find a repair service that could actually repair his phone.

So far? Not one bit of luck. 

The worst thing about the whole ordeal wasn’t the phone itself, for Akira could live without it affecting most of his life. The real problem was the MetaNav app, the only thing in the world (As far as he knew, for Mona was an exceptional case) that allowed him to explore the Metaverse. And that meant only one thing: Without the MetaNav, exploring palaces and stealing treasures was a no-no.

“If you’re absolutely sure I’m not bothering you” Akira finally said handing her the phone. “Then please, by all means.”

Grace took the phone from his hands and gave it a quick glance. “Great, now, let’s find somewhere to sit so I can take care of your little problem.”

A few minutes later Akira found himself seated in a bench alongside his impromptu savior that was now glued to a small laptop procured from a bag she was carrying. Her nimble fingers soared through the keyboard in seemingly erratic notions, whilst the young thief passed the time looking at the people in the underground mall.

“So, buying another phone was out of the question?” The older woman inquired without even lifting her gaze from the screen.

“Oh, yes, I mean, it’s not like a student has that much these days.” Akira shuffled his disheveled hair a little. “And even less someone like me.”

He felt a little sting in his heart for the lie. In another time, that statement might have been correct, but the truth was, in fact, that he could’ve bought another phone, an even better, more expensive phone thanks to the treasures in the palaces and the “loot” shadows had with them for seemingly no good reason other than money being part of the modern human subconscious.

The tapping slowed a little. “Don’t worry, I understand the feeling. Luckily, phones nowadays are not so hard to fix.” Grace gave him a smug smile, eyes gleaming with purpose. “I’ve never lost a fight in the tech department, and I really doubt this is going to be my first. Scratch that, I  **don’t** want this to be my first defeat. I refuse, totally refuse.”

Her confidence, paired with an uncanny speed and knowledge made Akira sigh with some relief. If by some chance his phone was dead for good, or in the even worse case that the MetaNav App never installed itself again in a new phone… The sole thought made him shiver in fear. Even more with a deadline coming soon.

Grace finally stopped the tapping and carefully disconnected the phone from her Laptop. She balanced the small object between her fingers and pressed the power button.

One. Two. Three. Four. The seconds passed like knives on Akira’s back.

“Ah, there we go.” Grace exclaimed, visibly excited as the screen lightened up again. “A tough little devil, eh?”

She carefully handed the phone back to Akira. The teenager accepted the device with newfound relief and without losing a moment, unlocked its screen. A quick glance at the apps revealed that the MetaNav didn’t suffer any change or deletion whatsoever.

An audible sigh escaped his lips. “Grace-san, thank you. Really.” Akira inclined his head a bit, as a heartfelt gesture of gratitude. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if you haven't appeared today.”

The raven haired woman fixed her glasses and gave him another of her smug smiles. “Aww, C’mon, it’s not that amazing” She shuffled her braids a little. “Just a little tinkering and good as new.”

Akira browsed his contacts, there were none missing. “No, Really, it’s amazing. No one had been able to help me, and to be honest, I was just about to give up.”

Grace slowly packed her Laptop back into her bag and got up from the bench. “Well then, I'll take by your compliments that your phone is back to optimal functioning.” She smiled. “If so, it means my work here is done. I think that’s my call to leave.”

The young man quickly put the phone in his pocket. “Oh, but, let me thank you for your kindness, Grace-san.”

The woman shook her head a little bit. “No need, kiddo. I was just doing what I felt like doing. You needed help and I was able to provide it. No strings attached, no compensation needed.” Grace turned around and started to walk away from her temporary acquaintance. “Goodbye, kid.”

As the peculiar woman walked away from him at a somewhat slow pace, the young rogue felt somewhat disheartened that such a kind person had to leave so soon after literally saving his life. Even if there were people who did good deeds just because of their nature, Akira thought someone like Grace needed a little compensation for taking the time to help people like him: Just at the verge of losing it all.

Suddenly, Grace stopped on her tracks and walked back to where Akira was standing.

“But, if you really feel the need to repay the favor.” she said, getting a piece of paper from one of her pockets. “You can call me. Only if your phone breaks again though. I’m extremely proud of my job, and if somehow, your phone were to malfunction again… Well, that would leave me very disappointed with myself. How does that sound?”

Akira smiled. “It’s perfect. You’re amazing, Grace-san.”

Grace handed over the paper, and with a small wave of her hand, she to proceeded to exit the mall, leaving the young man standing alone.

“Well, you don’t get that kind of help everyday, isn’t it, Joker?” Mona purred through a small gap in his bag.

Akira took his time eyeing the number written in the slip of paper and quickly saved the number in his contacts.

“I think this is, what do you call it? A ‘Stroke of Luck’?” The teenager inquired to his feline friend. “Anyway, we need to get back on track. There’s a Treasure that needs to be stolen.”

Mona gave him a purring sound of approval and both walked away from the underground mall

“Just one more thing, Joker. She never asked for your name, didn’t she?”

Whoops.


	2. Rank 1 Telephone Line

“A gentleman thief must never, EVER, be in anyone’s debt. Much less with a lady. And even less with someone as kind as Lady Grace” Mona began his sermon. Sitting atop Leblanc’s bar, the feline thief was giving Akira a good etiquette lesson of what being a Gentleman Thief meant. “It is imperative that you call Lady Grace and repay her kindness.”

Akira sighed a little at the remark. He was calling her  **Lady Grace** , just as he called Ann: Lady Ann. That meant Mona actually liked Grace as an individual. “Oh I know, believe me. But it’s not that easy with an adult.” And in that aspect, the Thieves Leader was right. Adults were a whole different beast than friends or classmates. More often than not, they needed to be approached with care if one wanted to get a meaningful conversation out of them. “If I bother Grace-san by accident, then I will lose the opportunity to thank her properly.”

Mona meowed again, somewhat angry with the comment. “If you already know what to do, then do it. Time waits for no one”

Indeed. To make such an important call, Akira needed guts and charm. A lot of both, and preferably now.

Slowly, he got his phone from his pocket and looked for the contact. Once he reached the number, he paused for a second. The moment she answered the phone it was all or nothing. 

With a stroke of temporary courage, Akira pressed the screen.

The phone rang. And rang. And rang it did until a female voice picked up. “Yes? This is Grace speaking.”

“Ah, Grace-san, good afternoon. I’m Akira, Akira Kurusu, the student you helped the other day with his phone troubles.” The young thief gulped at the sudden insinuation of a favor. Would she remember him? Or maybe she had already forgotten him, and this call was nothing short of a bother to her.

A brief moment of silence kept the young man in vilo, until a small “ah” was heard.

“Yes, of course, Akira-kun, was it?” The woman exclaimed happily. “Tell me, did the phone break down again? Or is it another tech-related thing?”

“No, no, the phone is working perfectly, thanks to you, Grace-san.” Akira shuffled his hair, thinking his next words carefully. “The thing is, after the favor you did for me, I could not rest knowing I never repaid you. Tell me, would you like to be treated to some coffee and curry?”

A small giggle came from the speaker. “Coffee and Curry? What’s with that combination?”

He fixed his glasses a little. For now it wasn’t a no, so he just had to keep her interested enough to accept the offer. “I know how that sounds, but believe me. This isn’t like anything you’ve ever tasted.”  _ And for the final touch. _ “I can assure you it will be amazing.”

A prolonged silence took hold of the line. Morgana started to pace around the Cafe bar until Akira jumped a little in excitement.

“Sure, why not? I’ve been wanting to taste some curry, and coffee doesn't sound half bad either.”

The black haired teen fist bumped the air in signal of victory and Mona purred with satisfaction. “You won’t be disappointed, Grace-san. Are you familiar with Cafe Leblanc?”

“Can’t say I am. Care to tell me where it’s located?”

“It’s a small establishment located in Yongen-Jaya. In fact, it's a little walk direct from the station’s exit.”

“Hmm, that’s actually really nice. All right, LeBlanc it is.” Grace hummed a little at the name. “So, should we meet at the station or at the Cafe?”

Akira laughed. “No, no. I’ll be there first. I technically work there, so you can drop by whenever you want, Grace-san.”

“Color me surprised, kiddo. You work in a Cafe too?”

“Yes, but not technically. It’s a complicated story.” And that wasn’t a lie by a longshot. Even more when you added the whole ‘Phantom Thief’ business to it. “Anyway, I’ll send you the detailed directions by message, so you won’t have any trouble finding it. Does that sound good?”

“Sounds perfect to me.” Grace answered with some joy. “Ah, do you mind terribly if I go today after work?”

Akira eyed the clock somewhat surprised at the proposition. “Sure, no problem. I’ll be sure to brew something extra special for you.”

“Wonderful. I’ll see you in a few hours then. Take care.”

The hanging tone signaled the end of the call, and with that, the Thieves Leader returned the phone to his pocket.

Morgana climbed the bar in one single motion and approached Akira. “So, Akira. How are you gonna tackle this in person?” He stroked his whiskers a little bit. “Is the legendary Joker ready to handle a date with an adult?”

The black-haired teen fixed his glasses and struck a stoic pose for his cat friend. “It’s not really a date, you know. But that doesn’t mean I won’t try my hardest.”

“Whoa, looking cool Joker!”

* * *

It was late in Cafe Leblanc, and the only figures that shared the dim lighted interior were the ones belonging to Akira Kurusu, young thief extraordinaire, and Sojiro Sakura, his guardian and mentor in the culinary arts. Specially when it came to coffee.

The young one worked at a confident pace with the dishes whilst the older man stood in charge behind the bar, overlooking the place.

“It’s rare to see you so eager to help, but it’s not something that I’ll complain about.” Sojiro quipped with some cheerfulness in his voice. “The more help the better.”

Akira gave him a quick glance and nodded a little. “Contrary to what some people could believe, I don’t dislike working here. Even less when there’s someone who teaches me how to prepare a perfect cup of coffee.”

The bearded man laughed after hearing the sudden statement from the youngster. “Flattery will get you nowhere, kid. But I appreciate the feeling. Anyway, I think no one else will come today, so do me a grand favor and please close the shop when time comes, alright? I have some things to do.”

And  **_bingo._ ** He couldn’t ask for anything better. “Sure, I mean, I sleep here.” Akira dried his hands and proceeded to take Sojiro’s place behind the bar. “I’ll call if anything interesting happens”

“Just be sure to turn off the gas, alright?” Sojiro put on his hat and waved goodbye as he exited through the door.

At the sound of the chime, Morgana came out of his hiding spot in the shadows and climbed the bar.

“I don’t think there’s anyone luckier than you, Joker.” The black cat meowed with admiration. “First Lady Grace offers you her help and now the Boss leaves before you have your fated encounter. Being the leader has its perks, I suppose.”

Akira chuckled a little, and leaned against the bar. “I think it’s more of a 50/50 ratio to be honest. Grace-san offered to help me because I was in deep, deep trouble. And Sojiro-san left early because he knew I was here to take charge.”

“Could you say it’s destiny, then?” His feline friend mused.

Before the young thief could answer the question, the door slowly opened and Mona dashed back to his shadowy hideout. “Excuse me, is this still open?”

Grace took a few steps inside the small Cafe, finding the young man she was looking for behind the bar, greeting her with a brilliant smile.

“Ah, Grace-san, welcome.” Akira made a small bow. “It’s so nice you could make it. Please have a seat. Anywhere you want is fine.”

“Then I think I’ll take the bar. After all, I also expect some conversation. Nothing worse than eating in complete silence, right?” She gave him a sly smile.

Akira carefully eyed the older woman. She had changed her clothes somewhat, to compensate for the warmer temperatures, but her signature items were still with her: Her beanie, her bag, twin braids, big round glasses, white stripes on her hair and a smile that could only leave you musing what she was really thinking about.

Grace took a seat at the bar, close to the disheveled young man. “Well then, I’m ready for my fabulous experience of a lifetime.”

“Right away ma’am.”

Akira had gone through the motions a hundred times over, but now, the stakes were high. He turned on the gas to warm the curry a little bit more than the room temperature, and then proceeded to choose the coffee beans for his brew.

To create a roast that complimented the curry, he had to know exactly what went into the curry, and start from there. Luckily for him, Sojiro had the kind gesture to tell him what ingredients he used for the curry, so the rest fell solely into his experience.

His deft hands danced from one container to the other, dropping beans into the mill. After closing every container he opened, he proceeded to grind the beans with a mixture of intensity and rhythmic movements to ensure an even texture.

Meanwhile Grace was almost enraptured by the daring rogue, moving from here to there, doing circular motions, feeling the roughness of the grinding, checking the kitchen temperature, pouring the water and the roast into an elaborate coffee making machine with the utmost delicacy and finally serving the two preparations into their respective containers: A cup of coffee and a plate of curry, both steaming and infinitely appetizing.

“Please, Grace-san, go ahead.” Akira invited the older woman with a gesture of his hand.

She smiled at the kind words and taking the spoon at one side of the plate, she proceeded to dig into the curry.

Akira had to maintain his composure the moment he saw Grace’s eyes go wide after the spoon went into her mouth. Slowly, she returned the spoon to the plate and started chewing with care.

“Well?” The young thief asked, trying to contain a small laugh.

Grace swallowed the contents in her mouth and stared wide eyed at Akira. “It’s… ah. How to explain? I mean…” She started to gesticulate with her hands. “I… I’ve never tasted anything like this, and don’t get me wrong, I’ve eaten a lot of curry in my life, but this? It’s… It’s amazing.”

Akira made another small bow. “Much obliged. Now, to complete this tasting course, I ask that you take a sip of your coffee”

The raven-haired woman fixed her glasses a little and gave him an incredulous stare. How was he going to topple the taste of the curry? In her mouth the spices still danced. By any logical thinking the taste of the coffee would be totally nullified by the wild taste of the curry.

But Leblanc wasn’t an ordinary cafe. And most certainly didn’t serve any ‘normal’ dishes.

She took the cup at her side and carefully smelled the scent coming from the dark brew. It was intense, deep and charged with aromatic tones.

Gently, the cup touched her lips and a small amount of coffee entered her mouth.

Now it was her moment to maintain the composure. A sudden jolt of electricity surged through her head. The intense flavor of the curry was now a hundred times more intense thanks to the coffee made with careful precision and masterful skill. It was truly a miracle that both flavors didn’t fight against each other for the supremacy of her taste buds, but instead decided to team up to assault her palate, giving her a sensation akin to getting goosebumps over and over again.

Before she could be overwhelmed by the sensation, Grace put the cup back in the small plate, followed by a deep breath. “How?”

Akira let out a small cough. “I don’t want to sound like a party pooper, but, it’s a trademark secret of Cafe LeBlanc.”

The woman lifted her hands in signal of surrender. “Fair enough, I guess.” Grace took another spoonful of curry with glee. “But I suppose you’ll at least tell me the story of why you ‘not exactly’ work here, among other things.”

“Sure, I’ll indulge you a little about my life.” Akira said as he started to wash the dishes again.

* * *

By the time Akira had finished giving Grace the general roundabout of his life (minus the juicy details like his second occupation as the leader of the Phantom Thieves), she in turn had cleaned the plate of food and had also drank a few cups of coffee for good measure.

“Wow. Never thought you would have it so rough, kid.” Grace sighed a little. “I totally get you, though. Getting the ropes on a whole new place can be extremely intimidating, even more if you’re not used to it.”

He shrugged. “Can’t do that much about it. As long as I’m a minor, I must comply and obey. Doesn’t mean I can’t bend the rules a little in my favor.”

Grace heard the truthful words coming from the teenager and gave him a kind smile. “Yeah. Yeah you’re right.” She took her bag and stood up from the seat. “Well, if you’re so sure about that, then I think I’ve also decided something.”

Akira crossed his arms and smiled mischievously. “Please, do tell.”

“I think you’re an extremely interesting person, Akira Kurusu, even more so that I initially thought. You understand that sometimes is not about just obeying the rules and keeping quiet, sometimes resistance is necessary. You’re also very reliable by the looks of it. That’s enough for me.” Grace gave him her trademark smug smile as she fixed her glasses. “So, I’ve decided to keep you as a permanent contact in my phone. You call me whenever a technical trouble arises, alright?”

The young thief made a mental fist bump. “Your help is greatly appreciated, Grace-san.”

This time it was her turn to laugh. “Yeah, don’t abuse it though. Oh, and another thing: Please drop the honorific, will ya? You’re not ‘kiddo’ anymore, so I’ll appreciate you calling me Grace from now on.”

“Understood, Grace.”

The older woman gave him a small nod and walked towards the door.

“The name is Grace Nam. Nice to meet you, Akira Kurusu. I hope that our newfound partnership results fruitful for the both of us.”

**I am thou, thou art I…**

**Thou hast acquired a new vow**

**It shall become the wings of rebellion**

**that breaketh thy chains of captivity**

**With the birth of the Jester Persona**

**I have obtained the wings of blessing that**

**shall lead to freedom and new power.**


	3. Rank 2 Hunt or be Hunted

Time is one’s greatest ally, for with it, you can achieve anything; beat any obstacle; solve any problem.  _ And steal any treasure, a certain feline thief would add. _

Sadly, for Akira Kurusu, time now was his greatest enemy, and the main cause of his boredom.

The downtime between heists was a dreaded period of time for the young mastermind, and even more when even his friends and confidants weren’t around to provide some sort of distraction.

It also didn’t help the fact that he had exhausted the activities he could do near Jongen-Jaya, or that most of the interesting locations he could go were a waste to visit alone.

All the while, Mona slept placidly on the couch, enjoying the most of the early Sunday morning.

A long sigh escaped his lips. It seemed that it was another day of wandering around Tokyo’s streets.

A loud buzzing in his pocket broke his act of self-pity. Akira took out the phone and gave the screen a quick glance. At the name of Grace, his face lightened up with a smile.

“Yo, Akira!” A cheerful voice greeted him through the speaker. “Working hard I suppose?”

“Of course. I don’t know another way of working that isn't ‘hard’.” The young man quipped back.

Grace laughed. “I thought so. Say, can I interest you in a small lesson in electronics? Free of charge, of course. Unless you want to treat me to some food. Not that I would complain.”

“You don’t need to extort me to get some curry, Grace. But I’d love to accompany you today.”

“Nice. Meet me in Akihabara in 25 minutes. Be ready to walk a lot and reasonably fast. Oh, also be ready to listen to me babble about techy stuff.”

“Roger that, see you later.”

The moment Grace hanged, Akira sprung up from his bed in the attic. He took his bag, gently woke up Mona so he could come with him, and quickly exited LeBlanc.

* * *

“I don’t really like Akihabara.” Mona meowed from the bag. “I can’t stand the rhythm, it’s always busy, and don’t get me started on the crowds.”

Akira stood just at the entrance of the district, in the hopes of spotting Grace faster, pinned against a lamp post. “You just need to get used to it. Think about it in the corner of your mind.”

“It’s hard to do that when you’re always aware of your surroundings.” His cat companion retorted.

The young man eyed the crowd, looking for the now familiar and extremely iconic sight of a beanie and glasses wearing, twin braided woman, but to no avail. Even in such an environment like Akihabara, he thought himself capable of spotting someone as recognizable as Grace, but maybe the Metaverse was another thing altogether, and his so-called third eye was only usable inside a palace. A conclusion that seemed all the more likely if he took into consideration that even Makoto Niijima was able to stalk him whilst also discovering his connection to the Phantom Thieves.

Well, it was better to fail an sneak test than to lack control in the speech department.

“Coolness won’t boost your perception, contrary to what most movies would suggest.” A well known voice spoke behind him. “If anything, it makes you an easier target.”

Akira turned his head to find Grace, pinned on the opposite site of the same lamppost. “I wasn’t really looking for a place to hide. It was more of a vantage point, really.”

“Probably, but you must never underestimate the true value of cover.” Her voice became colder, mechanical. “For anything can happen outside. And without it, we’re just sitting ducks, waiting for the single action that would put an end to us. And every nook and cranny becomes a death trap from which only your wits and reaction can save you. So, who’s trapped? The one who advances, unsure of the danger behind the wall? Or is it the one who waits, back against the wall?”

A small sudden gasp from the young man snapped Grace back to reality. Separating herself from the lamppost, she stood beside Akira, looking at his questioning eyes.

She tried to formulate an excuse for her sudden demonstration of uncanny thinking, but the words had left her.

The air grew thicker by the second, and for one moment, Grace looked like she only wanted to run away and melt with the crowd.

“M-meow.”

“You heard something?” She asked, still somewhat reluctant.

“N-no.” Akira stuttered, completely aware of who had just made the sound. “Anyway, where do we go now, boss?”

Grace gave him a small smile, filled with gratitude. “Now, we go on a hunt, young barista.”

* * *

Akira thanked any deity that could listen to him that Grace decided to stop for a while in front of a hardware store. For the past three hours the young thief had been dragged through the crowd; for every store, passage and shopping centre that Akihabara had to offer by his older companion.

It also didn’t help the fact that she talked whilst dragging him. Fast. Extremely fast; with a terminology that he just couldn’t understand.

But he accepted her banter with a smile, for he knew that she was enjoying herself to the fullest.

“I hope you found my small excerpt of mobile technology enjoyable, Akira.” She remarked, her eyes fixated on the shopfront. “I took special care to explain how to find the best and cheapest spare parts and how to replace them. Nothing better when you’re working on a budget, eh?”

Akira nodded, still sore from the mini marathon that he had just finished. “I can safely say that this was an invaluable lesson, and that I am also thankful that it’s over.” He rubbed his hands a little. “Now, I hope all that exercise gave you some appetite… Grace?”

His words didn’t even reached the older woman. She was frozen, an expression of absolute concentration on her face, staring intensely at one singular spot on the storefront.

“Is there a problem?”

Silence again. 

Akira started to get worried. A few seconds ago, Grace was the most talkative and jolly person he had ever seen. But now all of her laughter and joy had vanished from her features.

With care, he followed her sight, just to the spot were she had laid her eyes on.

The young thief felt a sudden cold on his spine. For her sight wasn’t fixated on a spare screen, nor a processor chip. Not even a rewiring kit as she had fantasized a few times during the course of their walk.

It was a mirror.

Who knows why the store owner decided to put such a forsaken object like a small mirror in display, alongside all of the pc and hardware stuff in there, in the middle of Akihabara. But the thing was that whatever the purpose for the mirror may have been, it was now the cause for Grace’s distress.

“Grace, I…”

But before he could even finish the sentence, the raven-haired woman turned her head towards him, her eyes now cold and almost devoid of light.

“Follow me, double time. Now.”

Quick. Precise. Mechanical. A cold order emerged from her lips. Grace darted from the spot she was on, without seeing if Akira acknowledged the instruction, and delved headfirst into the crowd.

It was pretty obvious that now wasn’t the time to ask questions. Akira moved the instant he saw his older companion move her feet in direction to the crowd.

Thankfully, Grace proved to be a rather easy to follow target, once you knew what to look for amongst the crowd. But tracking her wasn’t the problem. Keeping up with her was.

She zigzagged through the crowd with unmatched prowess, evaded people without even touching them, entered every alley; stair and street over and over again, all of that without stop. Not even to catch a breath.

After what seemed like an eternity, and a few laps around and through Akihabara, Grace finally settled down on a small dead end, in a less populated part of the district.

She gave the streets one last glance and then turned around to see how her partner was doing.

To say that Akira was in his last stretch was an understatement. His lungs were burning up, he tasted the metal in his mouth; his muscles screamed in pain and he had to resist the urge to just curl up in the street and writhe pathetically.

Of course, he could never tell Grace any of that, instead, he only resorted to lean his hands on his knees, desperately gasping for that sweet, sweet air.

“You're not coughing blood yet, so I’ll assume you’re okay.” The black haired woman patted his back a little. “Not bad for a little sprint, eh?”

Akira looked at her with disbelief. In comparison, Grace was still in pristine condition. Her breathing was somewhat accelerated, but she was standing completely straight and seemingly undisturbed by the harsh exercise they just went through. “Yeah… not really going to repeat that in a long, long time. Anyway, what was that for?” He asked.

The black haired woman looked surprised by the question “What do you mean by ‘that’?”

“Eh… you know, the whole marathon across Akihabara?”

Akira was now standing straight and looking at Grace with genuine concern. She didn’t sound like she was making another joke or just being ironic.

“The… the sprint, you mean?”

“Yeah, that. The ‘sprint’.”

Grace glanced at the street for a second. “Well… would you believe me if I told you that I hate… no,  **loathe** being seen by my colleagues at work? Specially when I’m in public. And even more if I’m having a good time.” She answered, playing with her braids a little bit.

Now it was time for Akira to be surprised. “Colleagues. From work. Really?”

The older woman elbowed him in the ribs. “ Of course, why would I lie?” Her voice sounding a little irritated.

Akira coughed in pain. “Nothing in particular.”

“Anyway, it seems that our quick lesson took a little longer than I anticipated. So I think I’ll be going now.” She fixed her glasses and checked her bag. “Sorry for not staying for lunch, but don’t worry, I’ll come back for it another day.”

“Sure, Grace. You take care and all that, I think I’ll breath some more air before going home.”

“Yeah, sorry for that. Hope you learnt something though. Be good!”

With those last words, Grace waved goodbye and entered the crowd. Akira saw her vanish for the last time in the day and, after letting the pain subside a little, proceeded to check on Morgana.

“I’m never doing this again, you hear me? NEVER.” The cat meowed with fury. He was upside down inside the bag, his fur now totally frizzled.

“Ah, sorry about that. Never thought Grace would behave like that, I’m still in shock to be honest.” The young thief apologized. “I don’t know what got into her.”

“It must have been quite the thing to make someone as calm and collected as Lady Grace behave like that.” Morgana concluded, fixing his fur. “What happened?”

Akira shifted his gaze to the crowd, trying to figure out the conundrum that now invaded his thoughts. “She saw something in the store. In the mirror. And that something must have been bad. Very bad to make Grace run like that.” He shuffled his hair a little. “No, running away was not what she was doing. She was avoiding something or maybe even someone, and she was extremely good at it.”

Mona looked at Akira in awe at the sudden revelation. “She moved like that just to avoid something… someone?”

“Yes. But what I fear the most, is that this isn’t the first time she has done something like this.”


	4. Rank 3 Change of Pace; Change of Mind

“There’s green tea, chocolate, mocha, mixed fruits, strawberry jelly…”

“Strawberry Jelly? Are you really sure this is a tea shop, Grace?”

Akira and Grace were currently standing in front of the counter of a fairly popular Tea Shop in Shibuya. A _Boba_ Tea Shop.

Grace was adamantly trying to get Akira to order something, whilst Akira was trying to understand how it could be called a ‘Tea Shop’ while most of the menu they served barely resembled tea at all. Maybe it was one of those things he couldn’t understand thanks to how much time he had spent inside LeBlanc. In fact, he didn’t even remember LeBlanc’s menu having tea at all. Maybe it was there, in a remote corner of the menu and in very small print just for formality’s sake. A Cafe without tea? Preposterous!

“Look, youngster, just because you are somehow stuck living in a Cafe where the coffee is in a whole new level by itself doesn’t mean the rest of the world is also going to get stuck in there.” Grace put special emphasis on the word _youngster_ , as if it wasn’t a paradox that she should be the one sticking to the older ways instead of trying to force new experiences onto him. “Now, set aside that old mentality and order whatever picks your interest. Besides, I can always drink it if you don’t like it. I like bubble tea that much.”

Yeah, that didn’t inspire much confidence to him. How did he ended up there, with such an enthusiastic adult trying to order some ‘tea’?

Oh right, it went like this:

_“Hey, want to shake things up a little?”_

_“Suuuuuuuure? What do you propose?”_

_“How about we go for some tea in Shibuya?”_

_“Tea. Tea is your grand idea of change?”_

_“Truuuuust me. You will love it.”_

_“As long as we don’t end up doing another marathon, I’m in.”_

_“Yeah, don’t remind me. I’ll also pay for your drink if you never mention that again.”_

_“Sounds good to me. I’ll see you in 20”_

And that was how he sentenced himself to death by bubble tea ingestion. The promise of free beverages was too good to be true.

“Alright, alright. I’m gonna order the Mocha flavored one.” He finally answered.

Grace gave him an extremely disappointed look. “You go to a Boba Shop. Get a drink for free. And all you order is the **MOCHA** one? What is wrong with you? Go wild! Pick something strange!”

Akira smiled. Since the last time he saw Grace in person, she had never been this enthusiastic about something as simple as ordering tea. Or anything, really. “Well then, chief. What do you suggest?” His smile turned mischievous.

The beanie-wearing woman puffed her chest a little after hearing the young man ask for her help. “Good thing that you asked, young grasshopper. For maximum efficiency, and resource conservation, let’s order a fruit-based one and a chocolate one. That way, if you don’t like the first one, you can always go back to chocolate.” She crossed her arms and sported her trademark smug smile. “You can never go wrong with chocolate!”

After agreeing at last, Grace proceeded to pay for the beverages. Akira watched with attention the bubble tea making process, finding that it was reduced to the core basics of any respectable beverage. It lacked attention, the fine tuning of the ingredients, the skill of the maker, the details.

It was a preparation devoid of any soul or personality whatsoever. Well, from his perspective at least. A perspective that was most likely influenced by Sojiro, a man who only accepted the best, and one of the few masters of his craft.

Once both teas were ready, the pair found a table inside the shop to sit down and talk a bit.

Akira inspected the weird concoction he had in his hands. A large cup rested in his palm, filled with a somewhat rosey liquid inside, and in the bottom, black spheres laid. The large cup was topped with a cellophane lid, making it impervious to any spilling unless the lid itself was perforated. A task that was most likely accomplished by the large straw Grace had also given to him.

Wait, did that also mean that the straw was used to get the balls at the bottom? This “Bubble Tea” was bizarre in every way possible.

“The tea is not going to drink itself, you know?” Grace quipped to the confused man in front of her. “Do you also want a practical exercise on how to drink bubble tea?”

“Anything so I can get over this weird contraption, please.” He shuffled his har.

Grace nodded. Carefully, she placed her cup in front of her, gave it a little shake, and then, in one single motion, she stabbed the cellophane in the center with the straw without spilling a single drop. As soon as the straw stabilized inside the tea, she pressed her lips against it and sipped a bit.

“Ah, now that’s just as I remember it.” Grace sighed a little at the taste of the tea. “And this isn’t even the best part.”

Akira arched a brow at the ‘hurtful’ comment. “I’ll be sure to learn how to make one of these monstrosities. Seeing how you like them more than the coffee I make for you.” He inserted the straw into the cup and sipped a little. The flavor was strange, but not unpleasant. The mixture of fruits was well balanced, and the milk helped with the consistency and softened the sugary aftertaste. “Huh. So they really don’t have tea in them.”

“Hey now, don’t you give me that kind of crap.” The older woman frowned a little. “You know very well that you’re the only one with whom I would drink coffee.”

Akira coughed and Grace gasped after realizing what she had just said.

“Oh great, that sounded terrible. Let me try again.” Grace cleared her throat and gave him a warm look. “You’re the only one who makes coffee that I really like to drink, in fact, you are the one who makes the only coffee that I drink. So, rest assured that there’s no one else with whom I like to drink coffee.” She winked.

The young rogue felt his cheeks get a little hot at the sudden gesture, so he drank a bit more of his tea to pass the embarrassment.

His adrenaline rush was cut short when he found a little ball in his mouth coming from the tea.

“Oh, you found a ‘pearl’!” His older companion exclaimed, visibly excited. “Chew it. That’s half of the fun.”

With caution, Akira sank his teeth into the weird sphere in his mouth, and the surprised face he made earned some giggles from Grace.

The ‘pearl’ was chewy. Extremely chewy, almost like gum. At first his instinct told him to stop chewing and just spew the thing out but in the end, he managed to eat it.

It didn’t have any distinct taste. It was just sweet, nothing else.

“Well. Can’t say I’m extremely fond of whatever these ‘pearls’ are made of.” He sipped a bit more of the liquid, taking care not to get another ball.

“Tapioca.”

“Huh?”

“Tapioca.” Grace answered again, shaking her cup a little bit, rustling the balls inside. “These are tapioca pearls. Not added for the flavor, but for their texture. It adds another layer of fun to bubble tea.”

Akira laughed a little. It seemed like bubble tea was going to be another one of those foods that he didn’t had to understand, but rather resign himself to enjoy it.

“Eeeeeeeeeh? Aren’t they like, super suspicious?”

“Maybe, but isn’t that the whole point? I mean, the name Phantom Thieves doesn’t sound like something very legal.”

A group of girls passed by the pair, speaking aloud.

“But they’ve been busting those nasty adults! I don’t care if they’re illegal, they’re just!”

“That only means that they’re gonna get it reaaaaally bad if they get caught by the police.”

“Meh. In the end, justice always prevails, doesn’t matter where it comes from. So I’ll root for them!”

“You really need to grow up.”

That’s right. They were doing what was just, didn’t matter how morally grey or ‘illegal’ it would seem. No one cared about those adults who abused of their power before, so, what did it matter if a bunch of teenagers decided to take charge of the situation? What changed?

Akira was sure of one thing: If getting caught was the absolute end for the career as a Phantom Thief, then it was a price worth paying.

“What do you think?”

The voice of his companion brought the Thieves leader back to reality.

“About what?” He asked.

Grace leaned towards him. “About the Phantom Thieves, of course.” Akira looked at her eyes. She wasn’t just looking at him. She was analyzing every single movement, every blink, every response and answer. “I already know that you have a very defined sense of justice, and you’re willing to act given the opportunity, but… do you think that justice must be served at any cost? Does the end justify the means?”

He knew exactly where he stood in that precise instant, just at the other end of an interrogation desk. The woman in front of him wasn’t an ordinary person by a long shot, and in that moment she wasn’t playing the role of the overly enthusiastic adult whose hobbies included quick phone repairs and eating tasty food.

Grace now was the personification of a rhetorical question aimed at his moral compass.

“There is a time, where it doesn’t matter what means are used.” He answered clashing head on with her inquisitive gaze. She was ready to detect any lie, so it was better if he let her know his true feelings concerning the Phantom Thieves little by little. After all, he still had to cover the fact that she was talking directly with the Leader of said organization. “When a problem has grown to the point where lives are being lost and people are trampled just for the sake of maintaining the order, then I say there’s no need to ask for permission. What does it matter if the Thieves are a clandestine group? What if what they do is illegal? As long as lives are saved and the responsibles pay for their actions, then I say: So be it.”

Grace looked at him for a moment, her eyes filled with enthusiasm. “Clandestine Operations, eh?” She took a long sip of her drink and shifted her view to the window. “Yeah. That indeed sounds right. Nostalgic… but right.”

Nostalgic. The sound of a group that operated under the established law sounded nostalgic to the person called Grace. Just who in the world was she?

“Are you satisfied with my answer, Grace?”

“Oh yes, very much so.” She chewed a few pearls. “You and I are more alike than I thought. Second time you’ve surprised me. Good job. I think... I wouldn’t mind getting a call once in a while to talk about stuff, you know?”

Akira laughed a little at the seemingly simple request the older woman had just made. “I’ll call you once in a while. But, could you answer me a question?”

“Maybe. You’re free to ask, though.”

“Do you always wear beanies?”


	5. Rank 4 Shrouded/Forgotten

Akira found himself once again thinking about Grace, his mind and thoughts drifting to her, raising more and more questions.

What did he know about Grace Nam? She liked to eat savory and sweet foods, had a knack for everything technological, was an avid drinker of his personal blend of coffee and mostly of all: had an unhealthy obsession with wearing beanies.

But what else? How about the Grace who became a professional at evading unknown dangers in the bustling district of Akihabara? Or what about the Grace who played the part of an interrogator on one end of a table, waiting for the moment to strike at the mere mention of a lie?

“You’ve been deep in thought for a long time, Joker.” His feline companion meowed, breaking the trance he had been in since afternoon. “You should trust me a little bit more if you have any problem. At the very least I can give you some advice.”

Akira sighed. “It’s not like I don’t trust you, Mona. Believe me, I do.” He got up from the bed and fixed his glasses a little. If even Morgana was worrying, then it meant that his problem was taking a far greater toll in his thoughts than he had thought. And as the Leader of The Phantom Thieves, he could not let something just go away once he had his mind on it. “It’s just that you’re not the one who can solve my problem. But I think I have a pretty good idea on how to crack this one.”

“Oh? You’re going out? At this time?” Mona’s blue eyes inquired the young thief, ready to tell him to just go to sleep or something like that.

The disheveled teenager took his phone out of his pocket and looked for a number. “Not today, Mona. Today I’m going for some answers.” He touched the call button.

At first, the call went through. It rang for a while, a fact that Akira disregarded as Grace actually working, but as the seconds lingered in the air, it seemed that the actual reason was far off than just being busy with work.

Finally, she answered. “Ugh… yes, this is Grace speaking.” Akira flinched. She sounded extremely annoyed. Annoyed and somewhat angry at the disturbance he just made by calling. “Well? You called, so it means you must want something from me. Isn’t that how it works?”

Great. If the usual Grace was already a handful to deal with, then this angry Grace was surely to be an even bigger challenge. It was better to just try and play it cool. “I’m extremely sorry, Grace. If this is a bad moment I can call another day.” There, the perfect mix of familiarity and politeness, without sounding too apologetic. “I really didn’t mean to disturb you, I promise. Once again, I’m sorry. I think I’ll just hang up now, goodby-”

“Nonono! Waitwaitwai-.” She blurted out a mixture of negations and pleas so the teenager on the other side of the phone wouldn’t hang up, all the while, in the background, chairs were moved and something sounded like it had just hit the ground. And then shattered. Badly. “Ah, fuck this.”

Was that a curse word? Why yes, yes it was. Miss ‘I like my drink with tapioca pearls’ had just cursed out loudly. On the phone. And that amused Akira a whole lot. “Oof. Are you okay? Is everything alright?” He repressed a sudden urge to laugh a bit. “This is my fault isn’t it?”

Grace sighed deeply. A small sound of glasses being cleaned up occupied the call for a few seconds before she returned to the conversation. “No, it’s not your fault, Akira. It really isn’t. If anything, the fault is mine for trying to discharge my frustrations onto you. Some adult I am, eh?” She sighed again. “Ah well, it’s time to go back to the regular me. So, can I help you with anything?”

“No, in fact, I think this time I want to help you.” He sentenced.

“Oh? How so?” She giggled a little. “Do I detect a subtle hint of maturity on your tone, Akira?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, I’m all ears.”

“Want to have ‘the usual’ at my place?” Yes. The usual was just the code they both had for: Eat curry and drink some coffee at Leblanc. A proposition that Grace always found attractive, especially when work started to pile up, or just to relax a bit. “As long as you come a bit late I can guarantee you will be able to eat in peace. And besides, you can always talk to me, you know?”

Morgana puffed at the terrible attempt Akira made at copying his magnificent speech about being a good friend and all that, but the young Leader of the Thieves scratched him just under his chin, earning him a few purrs of satisfaction.

Grace sighed one more time, this time with an added ‘meh’ at the end. “Yes, of course. I would like that, Akira.” The dashing rogue gave a thumbs up to his feline companion. “Work has been terrible these past few days.”

Ah, it seemed that she was struggling with one of the most terrible monsters known to adults: Work Problems. “Roger that. You just worry about getting here. I’ll be sure to give you as many helpings as you want.”

“You spoil me too much, but thanks. I’ll see you later.”

“Later.”

Akira pocketed his phone and shuffled his hair a little bit.

  
It was time to make some  _ goddamn good  _ curry and coffee.

* * *

Late at night, and alone at LeBlanc. That seemed to be the usual mood in which Akira found himself on most nights. A situation that he liked a lot, just for the fact that during those few precious hours, he was lord and king of the little space the cafe occupied in Jongen-Jaya.

“Yo, Akira.” Grace slowly entered LeBlanc as she always did when he invited her over. “I’m here. Get me the usual, will you?” She walked to the seat nearest the young barista and sat there.

He laughed a little at the small attempt she made at passing as a regular of the cafe. “Sure thing.”

As usual, Akira dashed around the kitchen and a few minutes later, Grace already had her scrumptious portion of curry and coffee in front of her.

“Enjoy your meal.” He flicked a tuft of his hair, trying to get an air of professionalism.

“Oooooooooh. I didn’t know the meal also had a show included. Do I have to pay extra?” The older woman arched her brow, trying not to laugh.”I’m afraid I left my wallet at work. Along with my hopes and dreams”

Once both had their say in the matter, they stared at each other for a moment.

And they laughed. A hearty and long laugh, trying to lift the tensions they had built in the past few days.

“Well, time for me to dig in.” Grace took the spoon and started to eat with happiness in her eyes.

Akira smiled at the now familiar image of a raven-haired woman eating curry in the bar. He was happy. Happy to be able to give her a small respite amidst a probably hectic life. Something that she appreciated a lot. Even more during bad days.

“I think I’ve never told you about my life, isn’t it?” She sipped a little bit of coffee. “Want to hear a little bit?”

He blinked at the sudden offer. It was just as if she had read his thoughts. “If you don’t mind, I would love to hear more about you.” And that wasn’t politeness. As far as his knowledge about her concerned, he was in the most absolute darkness. Only a few theories and elucubrations helped him construct a rather convoluted image of his older companion, but nothing solid. Nothing  _ real. _ He didn’t even know where she worked.

“Alright, let me start by telling you where I’m from.” Grace twirled one of her braids a little bit while eating another spoonful of curry. “As you can tell, Grace Nam is not really a Japanese name, isn’t it?”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Akira crossed his arms, trying to imitate Sojiro’s usual pose.

“I’m from South Korea. A shocker, eh?”

“Somewhat. Your Japanese is extremely fluent though. And if I had to guess, I’d say that your English goes along that same line.”

She chuckled a bit at the remark. “Oh no, believe me. You can’t abandon your accent, it doesn't matter how hard you try. Although I am fairly fluent and I have no problems speaking or writing it.” Another sip of coffee helped her wash down the last bit of curry. “But concerning my early years… you can say I was the troublemaker kind of child.”

Now that would’ve been quite the sight. A young Grace, causing all kinds of trouble and raising hell wherever she went. It was a whole new dimension of bizarre to think about it, but it was somewhat endearing to the young thief. He liked to think they had more in common than she wanted to admit.

“A little devil, huh? It’s a bit hard to imagine you like that.” Akira refilled her cup with a gentle motion. “You miss those days?”

She shifted her gaze to the cafe’s door. Her eyes glimmering with something akin to nostalgia mixed with a little hint of sadness. “I wouldn’t say ‘miss’. After all, the days where I used to play with the boys and roll around in the ground passed all too quickly.” A subtle silence lingered in the air as she took another sip of coffee. After the cup returned to its plate, she looked back at Akira. “You understand, don’t you? That sometimes, society wants that you comply and conform. To just sit down and listen.”

That hit too close to home. Grace knew exactly what she was doing when she asked that question. “Don’t tell me… you were forced to change yourself?

She gave him a sad smile. “When you’re prone to breaking expectations left and right, you’re bound to mess up with society itself. I don’t remember how many times I lashed out against my teachers, or how many times I picked a fight with the neighborhood boys, or how about that time when I had to scavenge computer pieces so I could build my—“ Grace stopped mid sentence, her eyes almost glimmering with tears. But she fought back the impulse, and instead resorted to a very long sigh. “But you’re right. I had to change my image and stop being a troublemaker.”

Just as he had thought, Grace wasn’t an ordinary person at all. What child constructs a computer from spares? “I’ve heard this tale before. Did you also punch a womanizing bastard in the face?” As long as he joked about it, the pain became bearable, for he knew all too well what happened with those who crossed society in the wrong way. “And that little project of yours?”

Grace laughed a little bit. “Oh yes, of course. Luckily, my love for these little technological ventures was something that I was able to keep. I built a whole lot of strange contraptions that could qualify as computers. Somehow.” She caressed the cup with the tip of her fingers. “I wasn’t so lucky with the rest. No more tongue lashings, no more fights, no more troubles. I had to keep my ideas to myself, I learnt how to soften my image so people would underestimate me. You could even say that Grace Nam was born that way. Who remembered the little girl who ran around picking fights with anyone? Not even I remember her that well anymore.”

She was lucky, the young thief though, for her punishment came at an early age. That meant she had the time to understand how society worked, how to adapt to the inmensurable pressure and the crushing darkness. At one moment he almost envied her, but the thought left his mind with the same speed that it had appeared.

There was no place for self pity. He already was in the bottom of the barrel. Now it was a matter of climbing out again.

He poured another cup. This time for himself. “But you’re still here. That means you fought back, in some way or another”

“You can’t just expect me to curl up and die in a corner, can you? Of course I fought back.” Grace flexed her arms, for dramatic purposes. “One good thing about the whole fiasco that was my childhood, was the fact that I was what people usually call: ‘Gifted’. In fact, I was able to secure myself a national scholarship at the KAIST.”

Akira almost spits out the coffee he was drinking at the sole mention of such an ominous name. “The what now?”

She took a long breath. “The Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, or commonly known as KAIST is one of the best, if not the best Technological University in all of South Korea. It is also a member of the AEARU or the Association of East Asian Research Universities and an overall Top 10 University in all of Asia Pacific.” Grace gasped at the end, but she was undoubtedly smiling. “Long story short, It’s kind of a big deal.”

He stared at her in disbelief. “Do… Do I clap now or something like that?”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” The older woman tried to take another sip from her cup, but quickly realized that it was empty. “Figures.”

“Want another refill?”

“It’s alright, besides, I think I already had my fill of caffeine for the rest of the week.” She scratched her head a little. “Anyway, the KAIST is my alma mater. There I got my degree in Computer Science and Information Systems.”

Another jab. Grace wasn’t only good with phones. She went to a prestigious university with a national scholarship and even got a degree in Computer Science. If anything Akira was surprised she wasn’t doing more extreme things like hacking into international companies or even constructing pieces of hi-tech gear akin to those in the movies. 

In fact, where did she work? Why was she in Japan? With a resumé like that, she could be working anywhere in the world. His plan of getting a clearer picture was backfiring spectacularly.

“Well, it’s getting late. I think I’ll be leaving now.” Grace took her bag and stood from the seat. “Thanks, Akira. I’m really glad you’re there for me when I need it.”

“Don’t mention it, that’s what friends are for.” The word ‘friends’ slipped from his mouth. Were they really at that point? Maybe ‘friends’ wasn’t the correct term for their relationship.

“Friends… Do you think we are friends?” She asked, a small smile adorning her face.

The black haired teen assessed the situation. Was she truly asking that, or was only a sarcastic question? With her you could never know, but it was better to bite the bullet now than to regret it later.

“Of course. I mean, if you want to.” He shuffled his hair a little. “I can’t think of any other way of putting our current state of affairs.”

Grace laughed. “I’d be glad to be your friend.” She winked. “So, now that we are friends, it’s only natural that I’d want to help you a little bit more, ok? If you have some equipment or device that needs something more than a quick look, I’ll come and fix it. Sounds good?”

“You’re the best.” He gave her a thumbs up.

“I know.” She returned the thumbs up, adding her smug smile. “See ya”

“Ah, just a sec, Grace.”

“Yeah?”

“Where do you work?”

“At Tokodai.”

“Tokodai?”

“The Tokyo Institute of Technology. I’m a researcher there.”

Akira swore that someday, she would give him a heart attack.


	6. Rank 5 I warned you about the stairs

“Akira, you  **need** to calm down.” Morgana meowed from the windowsill for the umpteenth time. “If you can’t calm down, I can’t calm down. And if we can’t calm down then we’re not going to solve anything!”

Oh no. Now it wasn’t the time to calm down. Not after he received the most distressed call from Grace he ever had the misfortune to answer.

_ “Do you mind… if I come over tonight? I don’t think I can go anywhere else. I don’t think I  _ **_want_ ** _ to go anywhere else. Please?” _

The words still echoed in his mind, a burning memory that refused to disappear, no matter how much he tried to remain calm and collected.

Her voice, plagued with sadness, at the verge of breaking down and disappearing into a bottomless void, paired with the helpless feeling of not being able to do anything about it was the thorn that drove him mad by the second.

“I couldn’t do anything else, Mona!” Akira shook his head in anger, his hands curling up in fists “I could only tell her to come. If only… If only I--”

His feline companion hopped onto the bed in one single leap and growled furiously at the now despairing teenager. “Listen here mister, stop this pitiful act in this moment.” He arched his back with fury, grabbing the attention of the Thieves Leader. “You’re Joker! The mighty leader of the Phantom Thieves! Do you understand what it means to be a leader? It means you can’t give into despair, no matter how bad the situation becomes!”

Akira gasped at the sudden words of courage. “Mona, you…”

Morgana leashed out again, interrupting him. “You don’t get to despair, pal. The leader is the last bastion against certain and crushing defeat! What would the others think if they saw you like this? You can’t do that, it’s unthinkable!” He puffed his chest, waving his tail at a rhythmic pace. “That’s why, you have to smile, ‘till the very end! If you never give up, then the others will follow you. If you never lose hope, then you can be a beacon in the darkness. That’s why, Joker, you need to snap out of this!”

How pitiful. How terrible that his feline mentor had to remind him of the most basic truth he had learned during his adventures in the metaverse: The role of leader is the one who takes the whole team into his shoulders.

It wasn’t just about being cool, stoic, or unwavering. It was about giving hope.

“You’re right.” He stood up from his bed, in his face a determined expression. “Grace needs support now, more than ever. And I can’t help her if I’m spiraling into despair myself.”

Morgana meowed. “That’s correct. I’m glad you came to your senses. It would’ve been bad if I had to scratch that face of yours.”

He laughed a little. “Yeah… good thing that we never got there. Anyways, for now, the plan is to greet Grace with all our might, and to help her in whatever way we can. As always.”

Yes. That seemed like a good course of action for now. In fact, it sounded better than any other idea he had in the past few hours. Better than pacing around the attic like a madman until the wooden floor gave in. Yep, much better.

He would help Grace, no matter the cost. She already helped him out of the darkness, and now it was his turn to return the favor.

* * *

“Alright. I’ve got the special ingredients from the market and I even snatched a little bit of Sojiro’s private coffee collection.” Akira reviewed one last time if he had everything he needed to make an unforgettable meal. One that would lift the spirits of anyone who tasted it. “As long as I don’t screw up the preparation, Grace should return to her normal self in no time.”

Or at least he expected her to.

Mona let out a purr with a small hint of sadness. “Aw man. Sometimes I’m really jealous of not being able to eat normal food. If only I had my real body…” He groomed his fur a little bit. “But I won’t complain! This is for Lady Grace’s sake!”

He nodded. Be it at the kitchen, or stealing someone’s heart, the mighty Joker never backed down from danger. Not now, not never.

Suddenly, Mona perked up. “Someone’s coming. I’ll leave the rest in your hands, Joker.” In a single jump, he vanished, with the same flourish as always when Akira needed some privacy.

The door opened in an even more slower fashion than usual and Grace entered the cafe with an awfully slow pace. “Hey…” She waved with what little strength she had left in her. “I’m here.”

To say she wasn’t ok was an understatement. Her usually proud stance was gone, no trace left of her smug smile, or her eyes so full of life. Her head hung low, her whole figure was trying to occupy the least amount of space possible, like she just wanted to disappear from there. 

If Akira had to be blunt, he would have said that the person in front of him wasn’t Grace Nam. That ‘thing’ was just a husk.

But that was going to change. Right now.

With a grand gesture, he waved back to her, in the same fashion one would great a close friend who just got back from a very long trip. “Good Evening, Grace!” He sported the biggest and warmest smile he could muster. “I’m so glad you came. Please, take a seat. For today, leave every bad thought outside of this cafe and just enjoy.”

She smiled, or at least tried to. Without answering, she seated on her usual spot on the bar, without even lifting her head.

_ “Just you wait, Grace. I’ll get you out of there.”  _ He psyched up, ready to cook for dear life.

Akira repeated what already was part of his muscle memory, but this time he also had to get in some glimpses of the woman sitting at the bar.

Who knew if suddenly she had the urge to just get away from there, from him. From anyone. He was ready to run after her if needed be, but Grace was turning out to be relatively easy to watch over while in that extremely depressed state. A fact he didn’t know if it was good or bad.

By some miracle, the young thief managed the finish the fresh batch of curry and brew a premium cup of coffee without much incident.

As always, he served the meal just in front of Grace, but this time, she remained in the same position. Looking at the bar, without even lifting her head to acknowledge the food, or the person in front of her.

It seemed that some extreme measures were needed.

With care, Akira took off his cooking apron, and proceeded to seat beside his older friend. “Just for today, let’s change a little.” He poured a cup of coffee for himself. “This time I’m not the barista of Cafe LeBlanc. Tonight we’re just a pair of friends eating inside a little cafe, in a corner of Jongen-Jaya.”

Grace lifted her head at the mention of her friendship with the disheveled teenager at her side. “You… you care for me.” Her eyes seemed to recognize the gesture coming from him.

“Why wouldn’t I? Isn’t that what friends do for each other?” He smiled again. “Now, take my advice as your friend, and please eat your food while it’s hot. You know how terrible cold curry and coffee is.”

She nodded. Slowly at first, but with increased confidence after a few seconds. She took the spoon coming out of the plate, and after hesitating a couple of times, she ate a bit.

Grace yelled, but Akira didn’t even flinched. “Ah crap, it’s hot!” She fanned her mouth with her hand. “You did this on purpose!”

“Tell me. Is this enough to make you stop eating curry?”

The raven-haired woman gave him an incredulous look. “No? Why would I? Your curry is excellent, and I can tell by the smell alone that this plate over here is even more delicious than usual.”

“But you burnt your mouth, isn’t it? Is the pain worth the trouble?” He inquired again, without lifting his gaze from his cup.

Grace frowned, pointing the spoon in his direction. “Of course it is! How old do you think I am, eight? I can wait for it to cool down or I can just blow on it. Why would… I.”

She stared at him, her mouth agape by the sudden realization. Her posture, her eyes, her tone, all of her changed. Grace was caught in the conundrum of discerning what gave her the final push to snap out of her miserable state. 

She looked at the curry, then at Akira, at the spoon, her cup, Akira again. “That’s right… why would I stop doing something I love just because of a little misfortune?” She tried to laugh a little but it was still difficult. “You little rascal.”

“I prefer the title ‘Handsome Trickster’, but rascal is also fine.” This time he gave her a smug smile. “Took you long enough, eh?”

Grace wanted to thank him. She wanted to thank him oh so badly, but her voice cracked again. She grabbed the spoon and started to eat in silence, trying to regain the strength she had lost in the ordeal.

“You don’t have to thank me. You also don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, but please…have some trust in me.” His eyes were kind, his smile soft and comforting. “Don’t suffer alone, all right?”

In that moment she cried. Not with a bang like both had hoped in the beginning, but in silence. A few tears fell down her cheeks but nothing more. No sobbing, no blurred words or anxiety attacks. Just silent tears and gritted teeth. And a few spoons of curry in between for good measure and energy replenish.

Crying was exhausting after all.

Some time later, Grace had finished her plate of curry and was currently drinking her third cup of coffee. It was difficult, but after many tears and one or two sobbings, she managed to leave most of her sadness behind.

She wasn’t out of the water yet, but her whole being seemed to indicate that she was much, much better than a few hours ago. And she preferred it that way.

“I swear I still don’t know how you do it.” She hummed with delight whilst sipping the coffee in her cup. “Curry and coffee should not be able to increase in flavor exponentially, and still, it gets tastier the more I eat. Are you sure you’re not some kind of reclusive master chef who just happened to live in here?”

Akira laughed. He was happy to see his older companion talkative and ingenious as ever. “Sadly, I’m no master chef. If anything, I’ve been taught by one.” A brief image of Sojiro flashed in his head, giving him a thumbs up for the compliment.

Grace returned the cup to its plate and gently tapped the bar with her fingers. “Well, that’s alright with me. I prefer the normal student Akira Kurusu.” She took a deep breath and crossed her arms. “So, you wanna hear the rest?”

“The rest of what?”

“The rest of my life. You don’t think it just ended with me getting my degree, do you?” Her eyes flashed for a moment.

An unknown feeling crawled through Akira’s spine. He had seen those eyes once: in Akihabara, just before he got into a senseless chase over an invisible pursuer. “Go ahead. I’ll listen to everything you have to say.”

She nodded, accepting his words as an implicit oath of secrecy. “After graduating from the KAIST, I joined the army. Crazy, eh?” Grace awaited a gesture of awe from her younger companion, but all she got was a meager ‘uh-huh’. “Not much of a surprise for you, it seems.”

Akira shuffled his hair a little. “I wouldn’t say that, per se. I’m just accepting the fact that every word you’re going to say is going to surprise me. Doesn’t matter how minuscule you think it is.” A little bit of that wasn’t true, of course. He had explored that possibility in the thousands and thousands of imaginary scenarios he ran through his mind about her life. Grace was just taking the role of grading the accuracy of those scenarios. “So I’ve decided to look surprised later. After you’ve finished.”

“That’s actually very helpful. Then let me continue.” She fixed her beanie a little. “As I was saying, I joined the army after graduating. It was certainly not the choice many people would have made, but it was the one that I wanted.”

“If it was your choice, then I don’t see why it should be bad.”

“Now I’m getting reassurance from a boy still in highschool. Some adult I am.” Her voice had a small hint of sadness in it.

Before she could continue spiraling backwards, Akira refilled her cup. “Does it really matter who gives you assurance?” He almost posed his hand on her shoulder, but he refrained at the last second. “Besides, you’re my favourite kind of adult.”

“Oh, is that so?” She tilted her head a little bit. “And what kind of adult am I?”

“The kind that helps other people without asking for anything in return.” He answered, no hesitation in his voice, no doubt in his eyes. “The kind of adult that hasn’t forgotten about others, and doesn’t let power or position cloud their senses. The best kind, in my humble opinion.”

“Once you’ve experienced it, you know the types of people in this world, isn’t it? The surprises just never stop with you.”

“Shouldn’t that be my line?”

“Perhaps. And this isn’t even the good part of the story.”

Akira gulped. Loudly. Somehow he felt the terrible omen that even his wildest theories about Grace were nowhere near the truth.

And she didn’t disappoint him. During the next hour or so, Grace told him bit by bit how she entered the army, how once inside, her own athleticism and daring attitude granted her an appointment to be a part of ROK Army Special Warfare Command.

Then she had to blow his mind again when she added the little fact that she eventually got into the 9th Special Force Brigade: The Ghosts.

“Wait, wait, wait. Does this mean…?” Akira tried his best to not sound frightened at all.

“That I know how to fire a gun? Yes, I do. Several kinds, to be precise.” She answered like it was the most common thing in the world. A fact that was even funnier, considering how imitation weapons worked inside the metaverse.

“No, I mean, do you actually know how…”

“How to operate explosives? Pretty much. I also understand logistics, army lingo, counter-intelligence and several other skills. Was that the answer you were looking for?” The smile in her face only made his blood run colder.

Akira took a deep breath and then clashed fiercely with her gaze. “I want to ask you: Do you really know how to kill?” The smile in her face faded, leaving only her cold, merciless eyes. “Are you ready to take someone else’s life if needed be?”

“Tell me something, Akira. Do you understand how to fight against an enemy who does not fear death?” The raven-haired woman asked, her voice completely calm and devoid of any hesitation.

Suddenly, Akira felt a lethal grip on his right arm. Grace had taken hold of him just when he was concentrated in fighting her cold gaze. The force with which she grasped was too unreal. The tightness fluctuated between immobilizing and outright limb severing. “Can you understand the fact of an enemy so dangerous, so despicable, that its only goal it’s not getting out alive of a hostile situation, but rather carry out terrible, horrible acts of savagery and cruelty?” She glared daggers at him.

Did shadows had that kind of thinking? Of the ones he had to fight against in the Metaverse, it never seemed to exist one similar to the monster Grace was talking about. They weren’t very interested in carrying out massive acts of evil or anything like that, they just liked to gather in a palace, where human desires were strongest. Because, as long as the human consciousness existed, they would survive, rendering the thought of mortality totally obsolete.

“I don’t. I don’t understand that feeling.” His voice cracked a little at the last part, product of the kind hug his older friend was giving to him.

The moment he had answered the question, Grace released the powerful lock. “Once you understand that feeling, then you can also grasp the concept that the only thing you need to pull a trigger, is to know who has more to lose.” After those words, her voice turned back to normal. The gleam of her eyes also returned. “Sorry about the arm, though. I tried to mix in a little bit of physical demonstration but I often forget you’re just a teenager.”

Akira rubbed his arm with all of his might in an attempt to endure the sudden pain. “Yeah, I don’t think I’ll ever forget this. Thanks for the kind lesson.”

“Pshh, you’ll live.” She sipped another bit of coffee. “Anyway, as I was telling you. Once inside the 9th Special Forces Brigade I quickly returned to my old ways. The brigade was extremely disciplined. And me? Well, I like to think of myself as someone with a rather unorthodox set of skills. In fact, that’s what was written in my report. That alongside: Exemplary tech skills and highly adaptable to situations.”

And that was the last bit of information he needed. She was a hacker. Plain and simple. Now it made total sense to him why she was able to fix his phone when no normal tech service could.

“It must be a very interesting report, I bet.”

“Oh, and it’s not over yet.” She toyed with one of her braids. “After some joint exercises, the instructors encouraged me to try my hand at the 707th Special Mission Battalion: The White Tigers.”

Just how many special groups and battalions the South Korean army had? If the trend continued, Grace might end up in the Ultra Super Intergalactic Defense Force.

“Don’t tell me. Then you went to the Black Tortoises, and then to the Vermillion Phoenixes and finally to the Azure Dragons?” Those lessons about Japanese mythology finally paid off.

“Oh, how I wish that were the case.” She sighed. Apparently the joke was not as funny as he thought it would be. “Sadly, in there I finally crashed against the worst kind of people you can meet in the army. Those who believe that being a soldier mean you owe them unwavering loyalty and absolute obedience.”

How familiar those people were to him. Arrogant bastards that refuse to give up their beliefs just for their sake. Using force and fear to impose their rules and punishing those who resisted.

He had another friend who fell victim to those who abused their power now. Seemed like everyone he had a relationship with encountered the same problem.

“You can’t escape douchery, it seems. Even in the army.”

“It was worse than being a douche.” Grace hardened her expression. Her gaze focused in front of her, just as if some invisible enemy had infiltrated the cafe. “Undoubtedly, the White Tigers were a much better match for my skills, but… as long as I clashed with that bastard, my chances of reaching my full potential became null.” Akira saw her hands curl up in fists. Her whole figure tensed in response to the hatred emanating from those memories. “As long as I remained in there, he would make my life hell. As long as I refused to break and bend to his will, I was pinned against the wall. What did it matter if I could become a really valuable asset if I wasn’t willing to obey every order, even if that meant death?”

“Grace…” His words were cut short once he saw she was relaxing a little bit.

“But then… I saw my chance.” Her eyes lighted up with the brightest light he had ever seen. “I heard during training about something really, really special. Something that I wanted to be a part of, no matter the cost. But I knew that as long as that bastard was in charge of the 707th Battalion, then I would never get my chance.” She fixed her glasses with the utmost care and then looked at Akira, her face loaded with a smug smile. “But luckily for me, I did what I do best. Thinking outside of the box.”

He laughed a little at her remark. For a moment there he forgot that Grace was second to none in resourcefulness. Especially when it meant getting something she wanted. “And that thing you wanted oh so badly was?”

His older companion almost answered the question, but she stopped before any words could leave her mouth. She only sighed a little and gave him a warm look, filled with something akin to kindness mixed with concern. “I can’t tell you, Akira. Doing so will only burden you more with things that do not concern you, nor will make you any good.” She slowly rose from her seat, taking care of getting her bag. “I know I must sound just like those adults you despise oh so much, but please, believe me. You’ve already helped me beyond words, and I would be a terrible friend if I were to put such a ridiculous burden on your shoulders. So, let’s leave this conversation as it is, and just remember that we are good friends, ok?”

It would be a lie if he said that it didn’t hurt. Even a little. But after today, he understood that Grace had very good reasons behind many of her actions. So instead, he just decided to smile again. For her. For his own sake.

“I understand, Grace. You don’t need to worry about me thinking less of you.” He gave her a thumbs up in his usual fashion. “I told you, didn’t I? That you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to. As long as I know you’re okay, then that’s all I need. You are okay to go, right?”

She hummed a little. “Yes, now I’m okay. A few hours ago I didn’t feel like going anywhere, but now? Now I think I can manage to go back into the world. Once more.”

Akira looked at her, perked up and with a smile taking place in her face. She wasn’t lying, and that gave him peace of mind, something that he had been lacking for the majority of the day.

“Well then, I’ll see you later.” He shuffled his hair.

“Yes, of course. We’ll be in touch.” She opened the door a little bit. “Oh, and Akira?”

“Mhm?”

“Thanks. I don’t know what would’ve happened with me had you not been there.”

“Happy to help. We birds of a feather must stick together, right?”

She laughed heartily at the sudden comparison. They really had a lot in common once she thought more about it. “Goodnight Akira.”

“Night.”

Once the chime rang for the last time in the day, Akira finally collapsed on a nearby seat. The whole situation took a hefty toll on his nerves and body, but it had reached a happy conclusion.

At least that’s what he wanted to tell himself.

The past that Grace talked about brought a whole new flock of questions that would never be answered, she made sure of that. It was better for him to leave those locked in the back of his mind, otherwise, sleeping at night would become nigh impossible.

Besides, who else could brag about having such an interesting friend?

As long as he overlooked the terrible fact that she had zero qualms about killing, that is.


	7. Rank 6 It’s all about the experience

“I… I don’t know about this, Grace.” The chopsticks trembled a little bit in his hand.

“C’mon, it’s barbecue, what’s so strange about it?” She asked, as another piece of meat hit the grill, making the familiar sizzling noise indicating it was being cooked to perfection. “Don’t tell me that just because it has ‘Korean’ on its name you don’t feel okay eating it?”

“What? No, no, of course not… it’s just…” the black haired teenager squirmed a little in his seat trying to word his next sentence. “This is not really cheap, isn’t it?”

Grace laughed at the sudden explanation. She laughed, hard and loud. A fact that at least gave Akira a bit of solace, seeing as she showed no signs of the terrible sadness that once had affected her. But at the same time, it attracted the gaze of some of the other patrons in the establishment. Curious gazes wondering why there was an adult sitting alongside an apparently much younger man.

“Ah, that really was a good one.” She ate a strip of meat before continuing, not caring if anyone found her to be a little bit loud. “Let me ask you something. If I walked to the counter and asked for a refund now that we’ve already started to eat. Do you think they would take it kindly?”

“No…?”

Grace pointed her chopsticks at Akira. “Of course not! What kind of restaurant accepts such a stupid excuse? Besides…” She took a small bowl of what she called ‘kimchi’ and ate a bit of its contents. “This is to thank you for everything. Don’t you worry about the money, I’ve never used my paychecks up until now. If anything, you’ve given me a good reason to use them.”

Akira sighed. Changing her mind once she was dead set on something was near impossible, or actually, if may very well be impossible, for he had never succeeded in doing so. “It’s not about money, Grace. It’s about the fact that you don’t need to treat me to such an expensive place.”

“And I’m telling you that this is my way of saying thanks. You didn’t had to go out on a limb for me that night. But you did.” She smiled with gratitude at the memory. “You could’ve just said a few kind words to me and just hope for the best. But you accepted me, cooked a meal just to lift my spirits and then took care that I was ready to walk on my own again. Not many people are willing to do that just for a friend. And I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that.”

“I can say the same to you” Another piece of meat fell onto the grill, this time by his hand.

“You mean?”

Slowly, he turned the meat around, taking care of cooking it evenly. “That day, at the underground mall, you and me were just strangers. Not even acquaintances. But even so, you offered your help to me.” Once he was happy with the result, he ate the strip with gusto. “You could’ve just walked away, ignoring me and my problems. But you didn’t. You just decided to help me, without asking for anything in return. What else can I do, if not follow your example?”

There it was again. A glimpse of the most heartfelt gentleness she had ever experienced. Her young friend was extremely good at outdoing himself when it came to offering support and care to those he cared about.

She just hoped that the little fluttering in her heart was just a misunderstood feeling of empathy and care for him.

“Well, now that we agree that friendship goes both ways, I hope you can eat the barbecue without feeling bad.” She winked. “I can always eat your part, you know.”

He stuck his tongue out a bit. “Not a chance.”

Thankfully, a meal on a table with a grill in the middle wasn’t something unknown to him. In fact, it was very reminiscent of the monjayaki he ate a couple of times in Tsukishima.

A great difference, however, was that Grace had the power to order more meat and side dishes if needed be. The power of having a good paying job once again enhanced the experience to limits far off the reach of any normal working student.

Mona would have to forgive Akira for not bringing him to the barbecue, but this little outing of his had to remain in secret. For now.

As the meal continued, Grace indulged her young companion with tales about the strange and intimidating ritual that was eating Korean Barbeque. According to her, the usual amenities that surrounded a normal meal sometimes were disregarded, giving way to the most animalistic and barbarian behavior a human being could display: The free for all.

Indeed. As long as the attendants were all of the same age range and had the familiar bond called friendship, then the Free-for-all could always become a reality. A fight to the death where the only goal was to snatch the most food in the least amount of time, with absolutely no regard for safety. Luckily for them, both had a sound judgement when it came to eating in company, and Grace had no problems in ordering more.

In a society like Japan, where portions were personal and very delimited, ‘buffet’ was still a term the populace was trying to grasp.

Except that one time where he went to that hotel buffet. Oh god, the food. So much food, so little time.

“That reminds me, Grace. You said you now worked as a researcher, no?” Akira reclined on his long seat, trying to give the food some time to settle.

“Aha.” A mischievous smile formed on her face. “It seems that you’ve found a logical loophole in my alibi.”

He juggled a bit with the chopsticks in his hand. “Something like that. But my question remains: Now that you work as a researcher, that means you’re out of the army, right?”

“Most probably.”

Right. There was the famous ‘do not ask me more’ answer. Even if he was dying to ask her why she chose Japan of all places to work, the enigma would remain unsolved as long as she refused to talk about it.

Grace sighed. “Look, I know that you’re worried about me after everything that happened, but you must understand that some things are better left off alone.” She looked at him with a serious expression on her face. “That includes most of my past. I’m okay now, don’t you worry your little head about it, ok?”

He shuffled his hair. She had made her point once more, and trying to pressure her would be a mistake on his part. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. Guess that sometimes I’m too curious for my own good”

Palaces, Mementos, the Metaverse. Everything as a result of mere curiosity and the guidance of a certain feline thief. If anything, his curiosity had allowed him to fight back at the society that abused those who had no means of protecting themselves, giving him a slight hope of achieving something great.

But that fact didn’t apply with her. In fact, very few facts applied to her. She was such an unique case, that Akira wouldn’t be surprised that somehow, even common sense wouldn’t apply to her. And as long as she wanted to keep up her barriers, then he would have to be satisfied with just peeking through the cracks in the walls.

After a few more rounds of meat, and quite a lot of side dishes, both finished the sumptuous meal. Grace got up from her seat and started to walk to the counter, but suddenly stopped after hearing her young companion search for something in his pockets.

“Do not even think about it, Akira” The older woman pointed her finger at him, a menacing aura radiating from her.

“Grace, please, at least let me do this.” The young thief’s hand rustled nervously in his pocket.

“Say, have I ever told you about that time where I accidentally broke someone’s arm while practicing a hold?”

He gulped. “N-no?”

“Let’s just say that I knew what I was doing all along. So, get your hand out of your pocket and let me pay for the meal, ok?” She smiled, indicating the last warning.

Akira gave up immediately, raising his hands in sign of total and utter defeat. He watched as she walked up to the counter, asked for the bill, paid for everything without a cinch, and then walked back to their table, all with her usual strut.

“Ready to go, or do you want something else?” Grace asked.

He felt his stomach growl in pain at the sudden mention of more food. If anything, he would have to skip the next three meals just to break even with his daily calorie intake. “No thanks, I think I’ve had enough for today. Or tomorrow. Or the whole week.”

She laughed. “That means the barbecue did its job. I’m glad.”

Akira grabbed his bag and got up. “Yeah, it was certainly an enjoyable experience. Thank you very much, Grace.”

“And thank you too, for helping me in my time of need. Think we can keep doing this?”

“As long as you want to keep up with me, I’ll be glad to.”

“Smooth moves, as always”

“I’ve been taught by the best.”

They say that somewhere, somehow, a ‘cat’ and a somewhat grumpy, but kind cafe owner felt a sudden surge of warmth in their hearts that day.


	8. Rank 7 And so I ran, without looking back.

Man versus shopping district. Man versus another man looking for the same sales and deals. Such was the eternal struggle for those who desired only the very best technology could offer.

A struggle that now was being tackled by none other than Akira Kurusu, leader of the Phantom Thieves. 

Slowly, he wandered through the technological Mecca that Akihabara was. Blinding lights and suffocating crowds threatened to take his focus away from the hunt, but he knew better. He had been trained by the best hunter in the scavenging business.

His stride remained sure, he wouldn’t give fear a chance to intimidate him. His gaze pierced the ghastly veil of fake offers and meager discounts, focusing only on those elusive treasures that were deserved only for the chosen few who knew how to navigate such treacherous streets.

Or at least that was what he wanted to think about this little outing of his.

The truth was, that he indeed was shopping in Akihabara, but it wasn’t nearly as fun as shopping with Grace. Furtive chasings and all included.

_ “Hey, I think we’ll have to cancel today’s lesson. Something came up, and I’ll be in big trouble if I don’t take care of it.” _

That’s what she had said earlier in the day. A real bummer, considering that shopping alone was considerably less fun when your mentor is the most interesting person in the world. At least it didn’t seem like she was in distress like the last time.

So, in lieu of making a total fool of himself, he decided to apply what knowledge Grace had entrusted to him, to the real deal. A real treasure hunt in Akihabara. That was mistake number one.

Yeah, not taking Morgana with him was also a terrible mistake. So much for wanting the ‘real challenge’ of going solo on a hunt.

Akira sighed, tired of the terrible exercise that was staring at a neon flooded storefront. A quick glance at his phone told him that his time in that part of the district was at an end and he proceeded to direct his steps to the less transited part of Akihabara.

“Sometimes, the best deals are in the most overlooked places” He repeated in his mind. “You already searched high, time to go low.”

To survive in a cruel world, one must learn to thrive in the face of adversity. That meant: if you can’t afford to be in the front of the best tech district in Japan, then you had to drive business towards you in other ways. And that meant offering good products at accessible prices.

Because one could always trust those back alleys to have whatever you couldn't find in the front. As long as you were able to tread carefully by said alleys, that is.

Thankfully, the backside of Akihabara was less crowded than the front. Much of the people walking in the streets were the connoisseurs and tech enthusiasts that knew what to search for and how to find it.

People like Grace.

His mind went back to her, without even noticing it. He wondered what kind of problems people like her faced day after day. Being an adult was tiring. Even more in a world that enticed you to abuse power and prestige at every twist and turn.

Was she able to endure such things because of her military training? Does the army think about that kind of moral dilemmas? Maybe, sometimes, she was tempted to just punch someone’s face, or use her skills to circumvent problems she deemed too much of a bother.

The sole thought of Grace as a rule-breaking badass was too much for him, and so, Akira just laughed it off. Sometimes she managed to bite more than she could chew, but it never seemed like the kind of person who easily lost control over her life.

She laughed, she cried, she loved to eat and drink coffee. She was a human like any other. Like him, like Sojiro. Like his friends and confidants.

Lazily, Akira eyed another shop for anything that looked mildly interesting. He wasn’t really into the whole PC Rig building thingy, because of how little help it would actually be for someone like him, living in an attic and all that stuff.

He also didn’t think he could become a master of the tech repair arts, like his beanie wearing friend was.

What he was looking for, in fact, was some sort of interesting gadget or add-on to improve his tools of the trade. The thieving trade.

Maybe he would find something that allowed him to create the perfect blend of offensive and defensive gadget, or even a master key, to allow easy access to any and all palaces.

Yeah, wishful thinking that was.

Tired of the whole odyssey, he turned around, ready to exit Akihabara.

That’s when he heard it.

A whisper at first, but gaining strength the more he approached a small alley in the most remote corner of Akihabara.

The whisper became a voice. The voice gained a partner, now there were two. One was stoic, unfazed, calm and collected. 

The other was temperamental. Sometimes in sudden bursts, others in a murmur. It had anger, fear, mistrust. It was the voice of someone who felt attacked.

What struck him as concerning was the fact that the conversation wasn’t being spoke in Japanese.

It was Korean.

He understood that simple fact not thanks to the sporadic words that Grace sometimes said in conversations, trying to omit a bad word or getting some concepts that weren’t in the Japanese lexicon.

He understood it was a conversation in Korean because he recognized the unmistakable tone of his friend and avid consumer of his curry: Grace.

And her voice was the angry one.

Akira fought back the burning need to just run to the alley and jump in front of Grace, serving as shield between her and whatever that was threatening her. His days as a Phantom Thief imprinted in his mind the habit of sneaking towards any source of trouble without attracting any attention.

Back against the wall, the young rogue slowly leaned into the alley. And his heart shrank.

Beanie. Big round glasses. Twin braids and a bag crossing her torso. Grace was there, in that dark alley, shouting at a seemingly random man in a black suit.

The young thief eyed him from his improvised observation spot. Asian, probably Korean, given his speech. Short, trimmed and slick black hair. His eyes were piercing, much like the gaze of an eagle watching its prey. The black suit only served as an accent to his intimidating figure, which, if Akira wasn’t so far away and tucked behind the corner, he could even say that he was of the same height, minus the whole hardened killer visage and act.

His concentration was cut short by Grace’s voice.

Her voice cracked once, twice. She flailed her arms and then crossed them in front of her, in a feeble attempt of protecting herself from an invisible onslaught coming from her conversational partner.

For every three or four phrases Grace spoke, the man spoke one. He never shouted, never lost his temper or even tensed his posture. He just carefully watched her face, and then answered accordingly.

Akira once again focused on his gaze, trying to guess his intentions against his friend, but this time, he was chilled to the core.

He was looking at him. Directly at him.

Even though he took every care to only lean enough to grant him vision of the alley without even exposing a fraction of his face, the man in the suit was looking at him, his cold and merciless eyes penetrating directly onto his skull.

Then his lips moved, without shifting his eyes from the hiding spot.

Upon hearing whatever words the man had spoken, Grace also turned her head towards the corner, and once again, Akira’s heart shattered.

He thought that he had seen her at her worst. But once again, reality slapped him back with twice the strength.

Someone could have stabbed him in the back and it would’ve hurt less. She was a disaster. Totally and absolutely broken.

The raven-haired teenager couldn’t take it. He turned his back to the wall and gasped for air, in the most silent way he could afford in that state.

His hand knotted into a fist until it was so cramped that he thought it would lose all blood. He gritted his teeth, in an attempt to suppress the rage and sadness, or at least gain a little bit of focus for an improvised offensive towards that man… that bastard who made Grace suffer.

With some composure back, he leaned again, now decided to intervene at the slightest chance, but this time he found the alley to be lacking one person.

Only Grace was there, crouched, her head hanging down and her arms wrapped around her. No trace of the man in the black suit.

He eyed his surroundings in a hurry, expecting somehow a surprise attack from the man, but nothing happened. He had vanished.

Vanished from a seemingly dead end.

“Akira…” A sorrowful voice called him from the alley.

The pain, the same terrible pain, struck his heart once more. Mustering whatever courage he could, he backed off from the wall and walked into the alley.

“Hey…” He answered to the now crouching figure in the middle of the alley. The words refusing to come out unscathed by the fear and sadness in his heart.

Grace tried to shift her head towards him, but her body refused to listen. “I never thought there would come a day where I would be so glad you don’t understand Korean.” Both remained in silence for a brief moment, unsure of how to react to such an event. Until she whispered again. “I… I think I’m having a bad day. Have you ever had a day like that?”

He had. That day where he decided to stand up for an abused woman, just to be stabbed in the back. Some time ago, there wouldn’t be a moment where he didn’t question his choice, but now, he was more than decided to stand against injustice. As many times as it would take.

Slowly, Akira approached the crouching adult. “I’ve had my fair share of them. I’ve also wanted to just disappear from reality.” He took a deep breath, trying to steady his heart. “But I’ve also learnt that keeping it all to yourself is no good either.”

She nodded a little, and sobbed again. “Would you listen to me again?”

“I would never say no to you, Grace.”

The older woman stood up with some difficulty, her arms still around her body, her eyes unable to look at him. “Don’t think I don’t understand how you feel. What you’ve been through.” Akira remained silent, paying absolute attention to her words. “I’ve also run from my problems. Or at least, I tried to.” This time she didn’t care about the tears. She let them flow. Free, warm, a salty cascade running down her cheeks. “You understand… don’t you? No matter how far I run… it will always come for me.”

He felt a knot in his throat, the dread starting to sink in. “Don’t say that, Grace. You know…”

“I don’t want to keep running, Akira!” She shouted, the fear and anger mixing with her deep sadness. “I’m tired… tired of running away…”

The young rogue shuffled his hair. He wanted to assure her that everything would be alright, that one didn’t had to run away its whole life to live in peace, but he couldn’t. What right did he had to tell her those words? Wasn’t he the living example of someone who had to run away from his hometown to avoid getting a worse sentence?

Even so, he could do something for her. Even if no one stood for him, he could be that someone, for once.

“You don’t have to keep running.” He treaded carefully with his words, trying to ignore the pain. “It’s not about running away. As long as you keep looking back, you will feel the need to run away”

She violently shook her head. “It doesn’t matter how far or how much I run. My past will always come back for me.” Reason had finally abandoned her.. “What else can I do now? I’m alone… I’m alone…”

Suddenly, a series of events flashed in Akira’s mind. The rigged trial, his family, having to send him away, ashamed of him. His arrival at Shuujin, and how everyone branded him as a criminal, without even knowing him.

He was also alone at that time. He also was running away from his problems, but it seemed that those same problems would follow him, didn’t matter how much he tried to escape. Like Grace was right now.

Those memories were like thorns in his heart. Always echoing, always hurting.

But then, everything changed. He made friends. Friends like him, who were rejected by society. Those who the people refused to listen to. They were his support, and saved him from a dark and bottomless pit.

He learned to reject society and their prejudices. He learned how to walk again, how to live. How to smile.

So he threw away the last bit of restraint he had, and hugged Grace with all of his might. He became the support for her trembling body to lean on.

Grace gasped at the feeling of his strong arms wrapping around her body. “A-Akira… you…”

At first, she was reluctant to the sudden embrace, even surprised, but the gesture was filled with such kindness and sincerity that she ended up returning the hug.

And in that same position, she cried, with everything she had. She sobbed, she shouted, she cursed her problems and the circumstances. All the while Akira held her tightly in his arms, feeling a wet spot growing in his clothes thanks to the endless stream of tears coming from the older woman.

But he didn't care, because for once, he was happy. Happy to be helping someone important to him, happy to be there when she needed it the most.

“You’re not alone.” He whispered into her ear. “You’re not alone. Not anymore, remember?”

Grace nodded, while tears ran down her cheeks. She knew that undeniable truth, but the mere fact that she had forgotten weighed heavily in her heart. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry.” She apologized to him, her head buried in his chest. “I’ve been forgetting so many things… I’m scared…”

The younger man caressed her head, trying to calm her down. “I know how it feels to be scared. Always having to look behind you, treading so carefully that you wonder if you’re actually living.” Akira separated himself a little from Grace, his hands on her shoulders. “But that’s what you need to do. You need to live.”

She looked at him, at his eyes. Two shining ponds of brown that showed a deep understanding of her pain and solitude. In turn, he looked at her eyes, now remarkably red after all those tears, but still conserving some of the magnificent allure of her intellect and charm.

“I.. need to live.” Grace repeated. “I-I want to live”

“As long as you possess the will to live, then you can. You don’t have to keep looking back, waiting for your past to pounce onto you.” He smiled once more, for her. “You need to believe with every fiber of your being that you can live without the fear, without the pain. Or you’ll always be chained by it. You’ll end up stumbling when times get rough. And in the end… you’ll fall. And you won’t be able to get back up again.”

The older woman nodded, and then took a deep breath. “I won’t. I won’t let it chain me.” Slowly, she separated from the black haired teenager. And this time, she stood straight and strong, her arms at her side, rather than around her. “I’ll live. For you, who believed in me.” In her face, an old expression appeared again. An unusually smug smile took the place of her pitiful self. “And for me. I choose to live.”

Akira put a hand on his chest. “Breathe this air, and never forget this feeling.” He answered her smug expression with a mischievous smile of his own. “Welcome back, Grace”.

“Yes. I’m back.”

* * *

Akira handed his older companion a can of coffee he had just bought from a nearby vending machine. “Be careful, it’s hot.”

Grace took the can with care and opened it without thinking twice. “I wouldn’t mind the pain. It means you’re alive.” She took a very small sip, but coughed a little thanks to the taste. “Ugh, this is terrible. Guess that’s a vending machine coffee for you, eh?”

The young thief opened his own can and sipped a little bit. “Yeah. Sojiro would kill me if he saw me drinking this.” He sighed. “But in your case, I think it’s more of a case of me spoiling you too much rather than the coffee being terrible.”

“Perhaps.” She sipped again, ignoring the taste. “Hey… thanks. How many times has it been? Two? Three?”

Akira shrugged at the question. “Eh, I’m not counting. It’s not like I would stop helping you after the 99th time.”

This time, she sighed, a small smile on her face. “You’re always like this. Always extremely kind and caring.” She giggled a little, her voice still strained by the recent sadness. “That’s friendship, huh?”

He lifted his can close to Grace, in a supporting gesture. “Only the best kind.”

She lifted her own can, and both made a toast. “You’re too charming, even for your own good.” Grace took another sip of the coffee. “But your sneaking skills suck.”

Ouch. The comment was a little wound on his reputation as a master thief, but a perfect opening for inquiring about the mysterious man in the suit from earlier. “Speaking about sneaking around. Was that man a part of this troublesome past of yours?”

The raven haired woman closed her eyes for a little bit, thinking of an answer that didn’t burden her companion with unwanted troubles or attention from even more troublesome people. “You could say that. Or rather, he’s only a part of my troubles.” Grace eyed the can and found herself unable to drink more of the foul concoction. “If anything, he's something akin to a tax collector. But less dangerous and much, much more obnoxious.”

“I see.” Akira downed the rest of the coffee once he had found it warm enough to warrant a safe passage through his throat without eviscerating it.

His older companion lifted an eyebrow at the daring stunt. “Do you gain immunity to bad coffee once you become a barista? Or your stomach is just that strong?”

“Both.” His face contorted a little thanks to the taste. “I’m a student, remember? Most of the time I don’t get to choose what to drink.”

“Considering how you act, I usually forget that part.” Grace sighed deeply. “Well. It’s better if I go straight home and call it a day.” She started to walk out of the alley. “Again, thanks for everything. I don’t know how, but you’re always there to save me.”

Akira tossed the can into a nearby garbage can, and walked alongside the older woman. “Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you?”

She shook her head with some sadness. “No. Not this time.” And then, in one single motion, she did what Akira thought was impossible: She took her beanie off. “I think I need some time alone. To think about all of this.” She unfolded the bottom of the beanie and slowly glanced over the embroidered numbers on it.

“707” The young man read aloud.

“There are some things that never leave you, Akira.” With her thumb, she caressed the embroidery, feeling the distinct shape of the numbers. “For better or for worse.” After passing over the last number, she folded the hat again and quickly returned it to the top of her head. “But if you want to help me one more time for today, please, get rid of this. And let’s promise to never drink it again.” She lifted her can towards her companion.

Akira took the can from her hands and nodded. “Duly noted. You’ll call if you need help, right?”

She walked a few steps and turned around to face him one last time. “I promise. If anything happens, you’ll be the first to know. And I expect you to come running to help me, ok?”

Those words were more than enough to make him forget the terrible taste of the cheap coffee from the vending machine. “I’ll come. Even if my legs give up on me.”

Grace swore that one day, he would deeply regret how much of a Casanova he was. Even if he was totally unaware of it.


	9. Rank 8 Resolution/Revolution

The road that lead up to the Inokashira Park pond was usually upbeat and jolly. The park was the owner of quite a few beautiful views and maybe, the pond was the one who took all of the prizes, according to the people who frequented the park. But for Akira, the tumultuous stream of thoughts in his head blocked out the wonderful views that now accompanied him towards his destination.

_ “Hey, I need to speak to you for a while” She had called after a small period of silence from her part. “Think you can come to Inokashira Park today? I’ll be waiting for you at the pond.” _

Sure, her petition came out more as an immediate compromise rather than a favor, but he wasn’t going to question her methods. He had promised his unwavering support to her, and he intended to keep his word.

After a while, Akira finally arrived to the small hill that overlooked most of the pond. It was an idyllic spot for many a couple who passed their time frolicking around the park, but for him, it had become an impromptu spot to have a conversation, away from the noise and the frantic pace of the city.

And just at the bench situated atop the best spot in the whole hill, was Grace, sitting alone. Sole sovereign of a solitary and imaginary throne.

He waved, trying to get her attention, but she remained still, her back somewhat arched. Her eyes watching the pond with unwavering focus, every ripple, every leaf, every reflection.

After getting no response, the teenager approached her with careful steps, and once he had reached her side, he sat alongside her, on that lone wooden bench. “The pond is livelier when the boats sail its waters.” Akira sat back and crossed his legs.

“I wish I could be like this pond.” The older woman said, without breaking her meditation. “So still. So calm. A clean reflection of the sky above it.”

The young rogue sighed. “The pond reflects the image of whatever has in front of it. If the sky is dark and stormy, it will reflect that.” He extended his hand to the horizon, trying to block the sun. “A pond cannot tell lies with its reflection.”

Grace laughed a little. The comment from her young companion broke off her state of deep concentration in which she had been for the past hour or so. “It’s so good you’re not a poet or something like that.” She sat back, copying Akira’s relaxed posture. “You would suck so much at it.”

“That’s because poet is not my profession.” He shuffled his hair, trying to give himself a certain air of elegance.

The older woman looked at him with a kind smile on her lips. “Yeah, yeah. You’re a barista. And a pretty good one at that.”

“It’s more of a hobby than anything else.” Akira returned the smile, knowing well that he wasn’t even paid for his work at LeBlanc. “But thanks for the compliment.”

Grace nodded, and returned her gaze to the pond. “So… I was thinking…” The sudden change in her tone made him brace a little bit for an imminent impact. “About what it really means… to live.” The soothing sound of the wind sending ripples throughout the surface of the lake helped mitigate the awkward silence that settled between the two. A silent clash between her need of support and his desire to let her speak freely, without his interference. After a few minutes, she finally realized that her younger companion only wanted to hear her before giving any advice, so she spoke again. “And I think I finally arrived at some conclusion. It’s not the best, but I reached it on my own.”

“As long as it’s yours, and yours alone, it has all the merit in the world.” The teenager gazed at the horizon within the confines of the pond, trying to get into the same mindset as her.

“I’m thinking about returning to Korea.”

Akira coughed by reflex. “Excuse me?” He did his utmost to remain calm and collected, even at the risk of ruining his nerves. “You want to go back to Korea?”

A small sigh escaped the older woman’s lips. “It’s not an idea I’m too fond of, but..” Her head sunk a little, her voice struggled to get out. “What if I can finally end all of this? If I go back to Korea, and face my past head-on… isn’t that the best way to end this endless chase?”

“So, you’re telling me you  **are** guilty of something?” Akira asked, not a hint of emotion in his voice.

“I.. think so. Why wouldn’t I be in this whole mess if I wasn’t guilty of something?” Grace slowly caressed one of her braids. “Why would I be running all the time then?”

“So, you  **are** guilty.” His voice remained monotone. “Guilty of a crime you’re not even sure of.” His older companion crossed her arms in front of her, and leaned forward. She didn’t answer the last question, and it seemed that she was reluctant to do so. “Tell me something, Grace. Whose problems are gonna be solved if you go back to turn yourself in?”

“Whose… problems?” She repeated, trying to process the seemingly cryptic question.

“That’s right. Because, as I see it, your problems won’t be solved by going back.” The young rogue shifted his gaze to her. A gaze she met with her own. “You’re just going to exchange one torture for another. The problems that are going to disappear, are the ones of those that are after you.”

Grace felt a small pang in her heart, like a gripping hand. “You think so too, eh?” Her eyes shifted from his own, to the pond once again, trying to cope with the feelings. “I wanted to believe that turning myself in was the right thing to do. That my problems were because of my stubbornness and pride.” She sighed deeply, feeling a knot in her throat. “But deep down inside… I do think it is like you say. That I’m only going to get myself into another hell.”

Akira laughed a little. “At least you understand how paradoxical are your words.” His laugh gave Grace a small smile for a few moments before turning back to her sadness. “You’re making things easy for them. You’re giving up. Is that what you really want?”

“Does it matter what I want?” The raven haired woman sentenced. “Giving up just seems to be the best thing to do.”

“Perish the thought.” Grace was startled by the sudden response of her companion. “Giving up is not an option. It never is.” She opened her mouth in an attempt to argue with his stubbornness, but a single look at his eyes prevented her from saying anything. “If giving up were so easy… if it were so simple… I wouldn’t be here.”

Usually, when Akira talked about things like these, she was able to see a hint of remorse in his eyes; of pain; of fear. But now, the only thing shining in his eyes was determination. “You wouldn’t… be here.”

“No. If I had surrendered myself to those corrupting the society, then I wouldn’t be here. With you.” He spoke and the older woman repeated the last words in her mind, carefully. “And as far as I’m concerned, you wouldn’t be here, too.”

A memory sparkled in her mind, like a fleeting shooting star. She saw herself in the past. A little girl with short, raven black hair; dirtied clothes and a frown on her face. Grace heard the same words she heard back then. About her attitude; her actions; about herself.

But this time, something changed. Instead of smiling mischievously, thinking in a way to continue with her small scapades and impromptu fighting gauntlets, the little girl just sighed. The young Grace sighed, accepting her meager destiny. Accepting the bleak reality that her days as a troublemaker were over, for good.

_ “If I had surrendered…” _ Those words echoed again in her mind, and instantly, she came back to reality. She looked at the teenager alongside her, in that small bench on the hill. His gaze was now fixated at his right hand, his eyes still radiating that determination so typical of him. “You don’t regret it anymore, do you?” The older woman asked.

Akira sighed with some sadness. “Yes. That’s correct.” He curled his hand tightly into a fist and cradled it with his left one. “Most people would say that when I decided to push that man, I was also pushing my life off a cliff. That I was literally committing suicide, but…” He relaxed his hands and looked at the eyes of his companion, a small smile on his lips. “Now I think that… I was pushing my life towards something better. Even if at the beginning it felt like I was endlessly falling into a never ending hell.”

_ “I’ll show that old bastard with whom he’s messing with!”  _ This time a more recent memory echoed in her head.  _ “If he’s going to play dirty, then I’ll play dirty too! No one is going to deny me this opportunity, even if I risk getting the capital punishment!”  _ A shadowy figure, sitting inside of a dark and cramped room, filled with hundreds of servers and terminals frantically slammed the keys of the laptop atop her legs. Only the dim light coming from the screen illuminated her face, making her big, round glasses shine in the darkness.  _ “Forget the standard procedure. To hell with the procedure! Tomorrow, when he reads the list, and after shouting to the seven hells why I'm there, I’ll leave. And he’ll have to look at me in the eyes, and accept it.” _

After the screen confirmed that the deed had been done, she smiled once more. With care, she disconnected her laptop, and with the same silence she had appeared in the room, she vanished.

Grace couldn’t help but laugh at the memory. Especially when she remembered the angry face the old man had given to her that day. Until that moment, she swore no one could achieve the same redness as a tomato by mere force of anger alone, but she found out that there were some that could. And that only made revenge all the more sweet to her. “It must be nice, to be able to make peace with your past.” The raven haired woman leaned back onto the bench. “But you are right. Giving up would’ve been a terrible mistake back then.”

“It still is.” The young thief fixed his glasses, a serious look in his eyes. “Nothing has changed. If anything, you’ve gained a lot since then, isn’t it? So, what’s stopping you from keep going on?”

The older woman eyed the surface of the lake, spotting a few leaves being swept up by the ripples. “If only it were so simple, Akira.” Grace closed her eyes for a moment, caressing the few sparks that were left of the ethereal memories she had relieved earlier. “I can’t just stand my ground and shout at my problems. Not in this case.” 

“I’m not saying you should go and clash with them head on.” A refreshing breeze blew through the hill, rocking the trees that surrounded the pond. “I’m asking you to live your life as you should. It’s not about fighting every day against those who want to punish you for something you never did. It’s about you living without feeling remorse for an imaginary crime.” Akira gazed once more to the horizon, observing the now setting sun. “Because, you’re Grace Nam. A woman second to none in resourcefulness, intelligence and skill. You know how to deal with this.”

She stared at him, eyes wide in awe at the sudden declaration. “You… you think so?” He nodded, while the wind gently played with his disheveled black hair. The older woman felt her heart flutter at the sight, and couldn’t help but nod back. “I-I see…”

The daring rogue smiled at his older companion, this time with confidence and smugness. “You’ll see. It’s hard to find the light when the night is dark. But once you take a look again without all these problems raining over you, the solution can be found, shining at the end.” And he knew better than anyone how to get out of total and absolute disasters. For he had been there, quite a few times.

And then, Grace laughed. She laughed at her own attitude; at her problems and those who caused them. “I can’t believe how you’re able to do this. I can’t argue with your optimism.” She felt as if his smile irradiated some kind of warmth that slowly permeated her body, lifting those feelings of sadness and hopelessness away. “Your mentor taught you that?”

Akira smirked at the mental image of Morgana puffing his chest with pride, suppressing a laugh. “Somewhat. A good part of the deal is experience itself. But it never hurts to hear a good piece of advice once in a while.”

“You’re absolutely right.” The raven haired woman let out a small sigh and stood up from the wooden bench. “And thanks to your little advice I know what to do now.”

“Does it involve you bursting through windows, guns blazing?” The younger man followed her motion, standing alongside her with a teasing smile on his lips. “Because that would be amazing to see.”

Grace softly punched his arm in a gesture that looked more like a caress than a physical punishment. “You wish, punk.” Akira gave her a small smile at the brief feeling of contact between them. A smile that she reciprocated. “I’m going to sit down and think really hard about this. As long as I don’t give in to despair, I’m pretty sure I can come up with a somewhat decent plan to get out of this unholy mess.”

“Now, that in itself is a good plan, and you know what would make it better?” The older woman arched a brow in a signal of amusement. Akira took his bag and rustled his contents a little bit trying to find something inside. “This”

There, in the hands of the young thief, a small thermo laid. “Is… is that?” His companion asked, seemingly moved by the gesture.

“Uh-huh.” He nodded enthusiastically. “A thermo filled with my personal blend of coffee, directly from LeBlanc. As fresh as humanly possible.”

Slowly, with care, she received the container in her hands. “Akira… you shouldn’t have.” Grace gave the thermo a good glance. Aside for its blue color, it looked fairly normal and compact. However, it wasn’t the thermo itself what was valuable to her, it was the meaning behind it. And the coffee, of course.

The young man shuffled his disheveled hair, feeling a little flustered. “Believe it or not, I actually miss those nights with you at the cafe.” A small gasp escaped his lips after realizing how badly that last part sounded. “I-I mean, spending a while with a friend helps a lot, you know? Besides, you still owe me some stories.”

The older woman giggled a little bit trying to suppress a laugh. With the came care she had received the thermo, she stored it in her trusty bag, as she did with her most important belongings that weren’t her glasses or her beanie. “The feeling is mutual.” She smiled at him with gentleness. “I also miss our little talks. I hope that after all of this has passed, we can talk again. In peace.”

“It’s a promise.”

“It is.” Grace turned around and started to walk away from the bench. “I’ll call if anything happens. Don’t get into too much trouble!” She waved.

“Ah, Grace, wait a minute.” Her younger companion shouted, making her turn around with a quizzical look on her face. “Never ever say to me again that you want to give up and return to Korea, okay? I won’t let you give up.”

And for the first time in the life of the Leader of the Phantom Thieves, he saw Grace smiling in all of her glory. Not her smug smile, nor her mischievous one. This one was so genuine, so filled with gratitude and kindness that for a little moment, he felt that the rest of the scenery didn’t matter at all.

All he saw was Grace Nam smiling at him. And he smiled too, with a sheepish and rather clumsy looking smile, but a smile nonetheless.

“I won’t.” Was everything Akira heard before she turned again and walked away from the park.


	10. Quest: I can’t stop falling

**“It’s over, Akira”**

Akira Kurusu never thought there would be a moment in his life where three words would chill his blood even more than the words the judge had pronounced when he was sentenced to probation. A close second was the brutal verbal lashing his parents gave him for getting arrested and almost sent to juvenile prison.

The Thieves leader carefully watched the figure that usually went by the name of Grace. She was now just sitting in a long black couch in the middle of a living room inside of what appeared to be a pretty pricey apartment located in a high end neighborhood.

Her arms rested limpidly atop her legs, while her head hung loosely towards a neat little table in front of the couch. Her raven black hair was loose and devoid of the iconic braids she used to wear. The beanie was also worryingly absent from her head.

**“This is the end of the line for me.”** She spoke again, almost in a whisper.

His eyes scanned the environment once more. It looked like a tornado had passed through with left no survivors in his wake. Everything was thrown away, torn apart or simply broken.

Clothes? On the floor, over the furniture, inside the bathroom or even on the balcony. The TV on the living room had been smashed with unusual brutality, as well as the lamps alongside it. Broken dishes littering the kitchen floor.

Whoever was behind this aftermath, it was clearly looking for something, but intentionally omitted the ‘gentle’ part of the ordeal.

Slowly, Grace leaned back onto the couch, her hair falling like a cascade over her shoulders. And then, she covered her face with both hands. She wanted to cry, but nothing happened. No tears came this time. No sadness or pity left to cradle her away from the hellish scenery that surrounded her.

What’s worse, that day had begun like every nightmare Akira had ever had: A text message in the morning with a single word,  **‘HELP’** . The following events unfolded in such a hurry, that he himself had wondered at some point if it wasn’t all just a terrible and febrile dream of his.

He remembered calling Grace. Speaking with her in such a frantic manner that the fact that he managed to retain her address still looked like a miracle to him.

The next part was just a blur in his memory. Getting out of LeBlanc, taking the subway to her neighborhood, speaking with the receptionist and boarding the elevator. All the while a burning pain raged inside of him, threatening with taking over his consciousness.

And then he opened the door. The lock was broken, same as the rest of the apartment. With careful step, he entered. Broken glass cracked beneath his shoes as the darkness settled into his view. And he saw, oh how he saw, Grace, sitting on the couch. Just as she had been a few minutes ago. 

“Grace” The young rogue had to swallow his own fears in order for the words to come out unscrambled. “Who did this? Who is responsible for this?” He closed the door without making a sound and took a few steps towards the older woman. “Was that man? Because if it was him, then…”

“What does it matter who did it?” Her arms fell to her sides with a muffled noise. “It’s over. I can’t keep going on when my life keeps falling apart at every turn.”

Without even knowing it, her words hurt like daggers to her younger companion. Had he been fighting in vain all this time? Were all of her words and all of his promises for nothing? “No, Grace. It’s not the end. It never is, remember? You promised to me that…”

Before Akira could end his sentence, Grace stood from the couch with a lighting fast movement, and with a fury unknown to the young thief, she kicked the small table that was in front of her, destroying the only object in the whole apartment that had been left untouched by the perpetrators. “I’M TIRED, AKIRA! CAN YOU NOT SEE?!” She extended her arms in anger, signaling the whole mess that now was her home, the only place she could call safe until a few hours ago. “There’s a limit to how much some things can break down before you throw in the towel. And right now, this is my limit.”

Suddenly, a light bulb flashed. The last bit of light in the apartment made its act of presence, shedding a little bit of the shadows that now reigned over the place.

And he saw her. Extended arms; hectic breathing; gritted teeth; disheveled hair, and her eyes: without a hint of light, full of anger and remorse.

“Grace, I know this looks like the end of the world, but you have to trust me, you must remain calm.” He said, trying desperately to get her back to her senses.

The older woman sighed, lowering her arms. In her face the anger was still present, but now mixed with something akin to disappointment and tiredness. “This is going to hurt me a thousand times more than you, Akira, but everyone needs a wake up call. And this is yours.” His heart shrank while a thousand needles took nest into his throat. “You’re just a kid. And you need to understand that you’ll never be able to fully grasp a situation like this. Not until you’ve become an adult yourself.”

His nails dug up on his palm with so much force, that a few droplets of blood fell onto the ground beneath him. The teenager had heard that one before. Several times, by many people. But hearing it from Grace was easily the worst one in his entire life. “Yeah…I knew that one.” Was everything he could muster back.

“So? If you already know it, then why can’t you accept that this is something you can’t solve?” She shook her head with sadness. “Why can’t you just accept defeat? Is it that hard? Not everything can be solved with positive thinking and pieces of advice, Akira!”

The Thieves Leader latched onto whatever willpower he had left in order to remain standing. “I’m not saying that… I’m just saying that we have a chance to fight back.”

“Hey, quick question.” Her features remained unchanged. “Do you think that a group of teenagers just came in here with sticks and stones and then proceeded to wreck everything just because they felt like it?”

“No, but…”

  
“But nothing!” The raven haired woman rebuked with anger. “Akira, take a look around. Where do you think we are? To get here, you must pass through the entrance, announce yourself at the lobby, check with the concierge, and even without those things, you still have the security cameras. Do you think that just anyone can come here and cause a ruckus?”

“That’s it!” Akira pointed at her in amusement at the sudden discovery he had seemingly just made. “The cameras! Maybe those bastards were able to fool the people at the entrance, but they can’t meddle with the cameras without attracting unwanted attention!” Without thinking it twice, he turned around, grabbing the doorknob with his right hand. “Just wait here, Grace. I’m sure we will be able to…”

Four quick steps were the only warning before he found himself violently turnt around and slammed against the door.

“You can’t.” She whispered, pinning him by the arms with the same uncanny strength she had shown a few times before.

The younger man looked at her eyes. They were wide open, even quivering a little, shining with fear and panic. “What do you mean?! We have a solid lead here..”

“Nonononononono, listen. Forget about the cameras. FORGET ABOUT THEM.” The grip over his arms tightened as she rambled on and on. “I’ve done something terrible, truly, truly terrible. You must go. Now. You must go and never look back, you hear me? Never!”

That phrase felt like a literal punch in the guts to Akira. “Grace, stop! This isn’t you!” He tried to shake her off but the older woman proved to be a far more capable grappler than he was. “What terrible thing? You’re the one who’s suffering terrible things! The cameras are the only chance we have, and I’ll be damned if I’m not gonna fight until the last moment!”

“Do you not understand?!” She slammed the young rogue once again, with notably less force than before. “You can’t fight against them! This is not your fight! Forget about everything and just  **leave** .”

“Why?” He stopped any resistance against her hold. The older woman looked at him, perplexed at his surrender. “Why can’t I fight, huh?” He sounded hurt, sadness mixed with anger pooled in his eyes.

Grace shook her head. “I can’t… I can’t tell you.”

In one single motion, Akira shoved his companion off. The raven haired woman felt surprised for a second, but quickly stepped back without even stumbling. “It’s always like this with you.” The teenager took a long sigh. “Your whole life is a secret to me. And you know what? I didn’t care that much. Because I thought that whatever little glimpses of your life you showed to me were true.” He shuffled his hair, giving a little order to his convoluted thoughts. “But in the end… it seems like it was exactly like you said. I am a kid. And as a kid I chose to believe in you. Every word, every promise, every smile you gave me, I accepted it. But what can I do now, except wonder if everything wasn’t just a big lie? What can I call real, huh?”

“It’s not… It’s not like that.” Grace held her chest with her hands, trying to suppress the terrible sadness that was now welling inside of her. “I trust you. Everything I’ve told you is real. How can… how can I…?” Slowly, a stream of tears fell across her cheeks. “I would never lie to you. I only wanted to protect you.”

The heart of the Thieves Leader ached once more, the unmistakable feeling of guilt looming over him. “And I thank you for that, Grace.” He coughed, fighting against the knots in his throat. “But you must understand that this time, I’m going to fight for you. Even if you push me away, I’ll fight.”

She seemed to smile for a fraction of a second at his words, but it was just a mirage. The older woman took another step back from her younger companion. “No, Akira, no. That’s enough.” She crossed her arms in front of her, in an attempt to distance herself from him. “I thank you, but I’m a lost cause at this point. So, before we part ways for the last time in our lives, I’ll tell you why you must go. I owe you that much” The young rogue wanted to argue, but he remained quiet. “When I sent you that message, I was so deep in my fear and panic that I didn’t realize that by calling you here, I also put your life in danger, by exposing yourself to those that want to hurt me.”

“Wait, you think they’ll go for me after taking care of you?”

“I’m sure of it.” She sentenced. “Before, it wasn’t a problem. I had taken every precaution to never involve you with me in a way that could be traced back to me. But when you mentioned the cameras, I knew that I had sentenced you to the same terrible fate I’ve feared since the start.”

The confession dug deep into Akira’s mind. Now everything started to make sense. The chase in Akihabara. The lonely nights at the cafe. Even the tea shop. Every outing and meeting had been carefully planned to avoid getting him into trouble.

But now his face was plastered onto every security video on the building. He had committed the worst crime a thief could do: Getting caught red-handed.

“It.. can’t be…” The teenager spoke with difficulty, realizing the weight of his actions. “So that’s why you want me to go? Just because my face is on a couple of videos?”

Grace stomped her foot with fury. “Don’t you understand?! They’ll come for you just because you’re important to me!” She gasped a few times after the sudden outburst of emotions. “They won’t stop until I’m made an example of... even if that means getting rid of a teenager.”

Akira exploded in that moment. With fury he punched the wall close to the door, hurting himself more than the concrete. “Those bastards!” He shouted, the anger helping with the pain. “How can someone be so despicable… so… so… argh!”

“That’s why… you must go… and leave me behind” She spoke, with the same gentle tone she had greeted him many times before. “I’ll try to get those videos deleted, but in the case that I fail… I’ll bargain with them. I won’t let them put a finger on you, even if that means I must forfeit my life.” And she smiled, the saddest and most gentle smile she could muster for him in that terrible moment. “So please. Forget about me. Forget about everything we’ve done together. Even if you have to rip your heart apart, you must forget me. For I won’t be able to live with myself knowing that I was the one who made you suffer.”

_ “You’re the leader, Joker! That means you can’t give up into despair!” _ Those words were the only thing keeping the young man from breaking into tears. “I… I…” He tried to talk, but his soul was being crushed by a sadness too big to ignore.

Suddenly, Grace fell to her knees. The last bit of strength gone into her final plea towards him. “You know what would’ve been nice…?” She sobbed. “If I were Japanese, maybe… the Phantom Thieves could have helped me. But that’s just a foolish wish… made by a foolish woman.”

In that moment, hope blazed back into the heart of the Thieves Leader. Like a bright and powerful flame, the name of the Phantom Thieves lifted the deep darkness that had invaded his heart until now.

Because, you see, the problem wasn’t that Akira Kurusu was a teenager trying to fight the fights of an adult. The problem was that Akira Kurusu had forgotten what had been given to him, in order to fight those fights that most people deemed impossible.

For he wasn’t just a regular student. He was Joker, Leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, miracle maker and burglary mastermind. And now, it was his turn to get into the spotlight.

“Grace. I’ll have to ask a favor of you. Perhaps the biggest one so far.” He spoke, not with the voice of Akira, but with the confident and calm tone of Joker. “I’m going to need the name of the man who’s behind your misfortune.”

The older woman perked up at the sudden mention of a name. “You can’t be serious. Are you out of your...” She looked at him trying to get rid of what was left of his unending determination, but when she saw his eyes, she couldn’t help but stare in awe. Gone was the anger, the pain, the sadness and the hopelessness that a minute ago had him against the ropes. Instead, in front of the older woman stood an individual with such an aura of confidence, charm and cunning that Grace wondered if he was indeed the same Akira she knew.

The debonair young man shuffled his hair a bit. “Trust me. I still have an ace on my sleeve. But I really need that name, Grace. Can you trust me this one time, just as I have trusted you?”

She wanted to reject the idea. Her whole being screamed against such a crazy petition, but, when she saw him, so sincere and gentle, shining like a beacon of hope in her sea of torment, Grace couldn’t help but give in. “Major General Kuh.” His older companion answered, a bit of fear still lingering in her voice. “I can’t tell you his full name, but believe me when I say, that there is no one else in this world with that name and rank.”

Akira took a breath of relief, and smiled. “That’s all I need. Thank you.” Slowly, he offered his hand to the raven haired woman. A hand that she accepted with some reluctance at first, but that reluctance disappeared as she rose up again to her feet. “Now, here’s what you’re gonna do: You’ll grab whatever you can from here, and then you’re going to hide wherever you think is the safest. Ok?” Grace tried to protest, but he lifted his other hand, stopping the words from leaving her mouth. “I know this sounds crazy, but you have to believe me when I say that everything is going to be alright. Believe in me this time.”

She looked at his eyes, searching for the smallest hint of doubt or uncertainty that would allow her to refuse his proposal, but she found none. In his eyes burned the same confidence and cunning he always had in his heart. “All right. I’ll believe in you, just as you’ve believed in me.” The older woman sighed at the ridiculousness of the whole ordeal, but nodded nonetheless. “I’ll pack and then I’ll find somewhere to stay until you call me. If I don’t receive your call in a couple of days, then I’ll go with my original plan. Understood? No buts.”

A smug smile appeared on the face of the daring rogue. Time limits always managed to get him all worked up to beat some evil adults, and this wasn’t the exception. “Duly noted. Just be sure to get some sleep, all right?” He opened the door and gave her a final thumbs up. “Also, keep your phone charged. We don’t want you missing an important call just because of the battery, eh?” His companion giggled at the terrible joke and watched the door close with a smile on her lips.

A few minutes after Akira had left the apartment, Grace searched with care for her precious items scattered across her home: her beanie, her glasses and her trustworthy bag. After gathering those, she carefully braided her hair back into the usual shape. 

With her hair braided, and her beanie and glasses on her head, she took the bag and rustled its contents, looking for the final item in her mental list.

Inside, just under the whole mess that was her bag, she found a small thermo hiding between her laptop and a few cables. With care, the raven haired woman took the small container and after making sure that no one was watching her, she hugged it with love.

The embrace lasted for a few seconds, but it was more than enough to give her the final push needed to leave the apartment behind, into an unknown future. One that a certain teenager had promised would be better than her current state of affairs. And one that she was anxious to see for herself.


	11. Mementos: Woman in the Box

This time, it seemed like it was really over for good.

Akira sat on the floor, pinned against the wall to the left of stairs leading to the bowels of the twisted dungeon known as mementos. He was dressed in his unmistakable Joker outfit, but even with the clothes, he felt far from masquerading as the daring rogue the world thought he was. His head hung low, just above his arms that rested over his propped up knees, the monochrome mask of the Joker now on the top of his head.

Slowly, he sighed again in a lapse of time he thought was an eternity. On his side, his cellphone laid over the concrete floor, its screen devoid of any light. With care, he picked up the apparatus again. The screen flickered and the MetaNav App greeted him. The dread piled up once more on his spine as the young man refreshed the app over and over again without any satisfactory result.

Nothing. Nada. Zero. No results whatsoever for anything that resembled a palace or even a target inside Mementos.

With anger, he tightened his grip on the phone. How could it be, that even with a name nothing came on the app? Had Grace lied to him with the supposed name? He shook his head furiously. Such an unforgiving thought popping in his head only meant he was nearing the boiling point. The exhaustion coming from Mementos’ terrible aura wasn’t helping either.

The teenager lifted his gaze, to the ceiling. He had been so close, so, so close to saving someone dear to him. Was it really the end? Were his powers not enough to help one more person? Akira lifted the cellphone in his hand over his head in a gesture filled with rage, but the memory of Grace stopped him from actually doing anything to it. With sadness, he looked at the blackened screen, and within that void, a memory echoed. The older woman, extending her hand with the phone in it. She had fixed it when no one else could, and that only meant he had to try everything in his power to help her in turn.

He stood once more, summoning his courage thanks to his older companion and placed the monochrome mask over his eyes, where it rightfully belonged.

“There are only two answers to this problem.” The Thieves’ Leader thought, his right hand over his chin in a pondering manner. “Or the name is wrong, or the person I’m looking for is  **actually** outside of Mementos’ reach.” And that last option made him shiver with fear. No Mementos meant no Metaverse. And no Metaverse meant no powers. And no powers unmistakably meant utter and total failure to save the life of his beanie-wearing friend.

The raven haired teenager gritted his teeth at the seemingly impossible endeavor. How could he reach someone that even Mementos couldn’t? He could fight inside of it, but not order it to stretch its dark and twisted tendrils towards whatever hellhole the bastard was hiding right now. He punched the wall with remarkably less force than the last time, a still hurting knuckle the everlasting reminder of a less than successful previous attempt. Was he going to fail when the end seemed so close? If only… if only there was a way to force Mementos to search for one person in particular…

“You have any idea of what you’ve done, inmate?” A seemingly ‘childish’ voice interrupted his moment of weakness. Akira turned around from the wall, just to find himself paralyzed at the sight of Caroline and Justine standing in front of him. “Well, do you?”

What made him stand in awe of the twins wasn’t the fact that he feared Caroline’s usual brutality or Justine’s cold and harsh demeanor. It was the fact that  **both** twins were standing before him  **outside** of the confines of the Velvet Room, and that made him shiver with fear without knowing well why. Was it a premonition or... something else entirely?

“Silence is not going to help you this time.” Justine words pierced him with killer precision. “This is a serious matter, and I suggest you take it seriously too, inmate.”

Joker, of the Phantom Thieves gulped loudly at the menacing words the twin wardens had just said. “I suppose you don’t mean this whole business with a so called Major General Kuh, isn’t it’”

Caroline stomped her foot with fury. “Of course we mean your current business with that woman!”

“Major General Kuh doesn’t sound like a woman’s name to me, though.” Akira quipped back, unable to contain his sharp wit.

The angrier of the twins waved her baton with such force than even the air cracked in pain. “Don’t try to be an smart-ass with us, inmate!” Caroline pointed her baton at him this time, in a less that kind gesture. “You know very well who we’re referring to.”

“Grace. Grace Nam.” The ever composed twin answered in his instead. “That’s her name, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” The young rogue confirmed, a small sigh escaping his lips.

Justine nodded and then flipped a few of the pages on her clipboard. “You don’t seem to be aware of the troubles you’re getting into, don’t you, inmate?” Her fingers stopped on a certain page, her gaze scrutinized its contents. “Worst of all, you seem to be overlooking those problems, rather than just being ignorant of them.”

Joker lifted his hands in protest. “Wait, if you mean the whole trouble with the army, I swear this is not…”

“Oh, the army?” The twin with the two buns on her hair lifted a brow. “You think the army is the worst of your problems, inmate? And I thought you couldn’t be any more pathetic.”

That last statement made the black haired teen frown in disbelief. What could possibly be more terrible than an oncoming confrontation with a Major General of the South Korean army? Or even worse, a problem so big, that even the wardens of the Velvet Room were admonishing him. He inserted his hands into the pockets of his jet black trench coat, trying to assume his usual posture of unwavering confidence.

“Caroline, it does seem that our inmate needs a little bit of help realizing what’s really going on.” The composed of the two twins threw a quick glance to her less comprehensive sibling. “Would you mind terribly?”

“Huh? Why me?” She answered, an annoyed expression on her face. “You’re the one who’s good explaining all that stuff. I’m just the one who exerts the physical reminders.”

In any other situation, Akira would’ve laughed at the usual dynamic the two twins played on their own, without minding his opinion at all. But now, it only helped to grow the looming uncertainty that their quizzical words had implanted in his mind earlier. “I’m all ears.” He sentenced, trying to end their short-lived game of hot potato.

“At least I’m glad you’re eager to fix your mistakes.” Justine fixed her braid and muffled a small cough with her free hand. “Very well, I shall explain what exactly is happening with you and your current relationships.” The young rogue could feel his stomach becoming a knot at the mention of his relationships. “I lack the required finesse when speaking about things related to the human world but… let me say it bluntly: The current path you are walking towards will only end in chaos. And in the worst case, it might probably end with the destruction of your future, and in turn, it will destroy the world’s future.”

“Huh?” The Thieves’ Leader found himself taken aback by the sudden declaration of upcoming and certain doom. Even more when the more composed and calm of the twins seemed to just spit out such a menacing omen with a chillingly monotone voice.

“You heard her, inmate!” His thoughts were cut short at the distinct feeling of a baton entering the zone between his ribs with absolute prejudice. “You’ve been playing hero all over the place without even thinking about the consequences. Did you ever stop to think about that, eh? Did you?” Caroline added insult to injury.

“I… don’t… understand.” He crouched a little bit, trying to contain the terrible pain in his abdomen. “Me helping Grace is what’s supposedly destroying the world’s future? Excuse me if I sound a little bit skeptical but, I seriously doubt that last statement.”

The less amicable twin lifted the baton once more but her twin stopped her maneuver before any more damage could be inflicted to the rogue’s body. “Maybe it does sound a little bit extreme, but you must believe us when we say that this: Your current affiliation with the woman named Grace is not meant to be under any circumstances.”

Akira perked up instantly at that last phrase. “How so? What does she have that makes her any different from my other companions?”

Justine sighed a little bit, in her eye a small hint of pity shone towards him. “What makes her different from your companions, and even from your other confidants, is the sole fact that you meeting her was an event that  **shouldn’t be possible** under any circumstances.” Joker stared wide eyed at her. The weight of those words crushed his meager understanding of the world he knew up until now. “We’re not speaking of a zero point something chance of happening. We’re speaking of an  **absolute zero** of happening. But here you are, a tight bond between the two of you. A bond that now tucks at the very strings of fate, a fate that you yourself have been rewriting at every point and turn.”

“This… is a joke, right?” The raven haired teen frantically alternated his gaze between the two wardens in front of him, in his heart an unsettling feeling raging inside. “Zero? Our meeting had zero chance of happening? But… why?”

“You’re both too similar, damnit!” Caroline stomped the ground, startling the young rogue a little bit. “Her arcana and your arcana are too similar, for your own good.” The single braided warden gave her sister a scolding look, effectively making her drop a little bit of her ‘bad cop’ act. “What I mean is: Normally, her arcana should never show up in your life, inmate. The Jester arcana only brings chaos and misery to the Fool, but by some twisted chance, she is now a part of your life. A very big part, if I had to be honest.”

Justine posed her hand in her chin, emphasizing a deep thinking stance. “That’s a crude way to put it, yes. But if we had to be more specific, The Fool and The Jester should repel each other with all of their might, ensuring in the process that fate is not tampered in excess, for it is a very delicate structure.” Her gaze became harder, her hands grasping both sides of her clipboard. “However, what made it worse, was the fact that instead of getting away from each other, both of you foolishly attempted to become even closer. Even when you both saw how the situation got gradually worse, you latched on with even more strength, refusing to let go.”

If the blow had been physical, Akira would be now laying on the floor, unconscious by its sheer force. Instead he had to be grateful that the only thing that was unconscious right now, was his grasp on reality. “So, the whole conflict with this Major General bastard, is a product of fate? The whole problem with the army is just a whim of destiny?”

The angrier of the twins crossed her arms in front of her. “It’s its defense mechanism. Surely you weren’t expecting a neat little letter saying: ‘could the both of you please get away from each other, thanks’?” She smirked at the joke she had just improvised. “When the first attempts failed, fate had no other choice than to turn up the dial until it became what you know in this moment. The whole army fiasco.”

“All of this, all of the misery and pain, just to break us apart? That’s why fate threw so much stuff at us?” The daring rogue posed a hand on his head, to prevent himself from just losing it all and falling to the floor.

Justine nodded. “It’s in your nature as the trickster to challenge fate itself. And fate does not matter that fact, as long as there is a balance between your actions and how much you alter it. But the meeting of the Jester and the Fool? That’s something that goes well beyond the boiling point.”

Joker tried to pinch his temples but his fingers collided clumsily with the monochrome mask on his face. “One question, then. I must assume that, if by some chance in the past, I decided to not help Grace, then, the whole cascade of terrible things would’ve never happened?”

“That’s the gist of it.” Caroline shrugged nonchalantly. “But we are not very sure that her destiny would’ve ended in a happy way.”

The teenager lifted his arms in a defeated expression alongside a grunt of pain. “Then it’s the same thing. Help or no help, Grace is destined to get into trouble. Why is fate so goddamn interested in the both of us if the results don’t matter?”

The buns on Caroline’s head bounced a little as she waved her fist with anger at the rogue. “How dense must you be?! We already told you, fate is not okay with you two being this close and that’s all you need to know!” She waved her baton again, a somewhat implicit threat inside its movement. “So you better cut the crap now and get away from her.”

Akira back stepped from the menacing twin, his body perked up in a defensive stance. “I refuse. Under any circumstance I refuse to rescind my aid. Hit me all you want, but I’ll get back up again. As many times as it takes.” A serious expression was planted on his face. Not an ounce of doubt in his eyes. “So go ahead, try. I’ll pass over you if needed be.”

The angry little warden lifted her baton, ready to unleash a massively unknown amount of punishment over the courageous Thief, but her twin interrupted the action by standing between her and the rogue. “It seems clear that the inmate will not be persuaded by any physical punishment, Caroline. But I wonder…” A mischievous smile appeared on Justine’s face. “What if I tell you that the path you intend to walk can very well end up claiming your life?”

“I don’t care.” His answer came faster than the twins were expecting. “I’m going to save her, no matter the cost.”

“Justine, you can’t just accept this answer! What will our master say if…”

The single braided twin put a finger on her sister’s lips, cutting her phrase short. “Dearest sister. Under any other circumstances, I would totally agree with you, but, as we’ve said before, this is an exception to any rule we’ve ever known.” With unmatched grace, Justine turned around with a pirouette, and after leaving her sister dumbfounded, she extended her arms in a grandiose gesture. “Isn’t our task as wardens of the Velvet Room the aiding of the inmate with his rehabilitation? If he wanted to enact this action for his own benefit, then I would agree wholeheartedly that punishment is the only correct course of action for him. But, can you see it, shining in his eyes?” She pointed at the Thieves’ Leader with exuberance. “There’s nothing that could remotely resemble selfishness in there. At the contrary! His whole being radiates a feeling so pure, so full of selflessness, that some people would even call him a hero! And isn’t that something regarded in high esteem in the human society? What better way to rehabilitate oneself than to show the remarkable virtue of altruism!”

Caroline grabbed her head in pure panic, visibly shaken by the actions of her sister. “J-Justine! Have you lost yours mind?! What would our master say if he saw you like this?!”

“But he isn’t here, dear sister.” She smirked at the fact, earning a faint gasp from her less than calm sister. “Isn’t that a little too convenient? How this whole incident has occurred just under his… ‘nose’.” A quick laugh from everyone on the entrance broke the tense atmosphere for a second. “If anything, I would dare to say that even fate is plotting against him right now. Our siblings fulfilled their tasks to the last consequences. This is also a part of our duty, and as such, we must see to its conclusion, be it what it may be.”

The warden with the pair of buns took a long sigh. “Jeez, if you’re so motivated, then I guess there’s nothing else I can do. We’ll have to help the inmate achieve this suicidal stunt.”

A smile broke on Akira’s lips, the promise of the Twins’ help a small respite amongst a turbulent stream of problems. “You don’t know how grateful I am for your help…”

“Do not thank us yet, inmate.” Justine cut short his early celebration. “We’re merely going to give you a little push towards your objective. The rest is entirely on your part, even the whole life or death thing.”

“Ugh, almost forgot about that.” He scratched the back of his head, somewhat upset by the grim reminder. “Well… as long as I get to meet with my target, then I think we can count ‘impending doom’ as part of the job, if not collateral damage.”

The single braided twin nodded at his answer and focused again on her clipboard. “Very well. Let us see here…” The pages flipped in her hands with unwavering speed, all the while, Caroline stood besides her, an angry expression directed at the black suited thief. “This is… unusual. Major General Kuh, was it?” Joker nodded in affirmation. Her eyes squinted and her movements achieved a speed beyond that of any mortal outside of Mementos. A few seconds later, her fingers stopped their relentless chase and a long sigh escaped her lips. “This isn’t what I was expecting. At all.”

“What? What is it?” The other twin inquired without dropping her intimidating posture.

“The person in question does not exist in Mementos.” With that single phrase, the whole moment froze. Caroline’s eyes were wide in shock, whilst Akira felt like his blood stopped flowing altogether inside him. Justine glanced at the two shocked individuals besides her and quickly regained some composure. “Oh, I’m sorry. I meant that the target was outside of Mementos’ reach. Not that it doesn’t exist in the Metaverse.”

A collective and very audible sigh escaped from Caroline’s and Akira’s mouths. “But that doesn’t make any sense. Mementos has a limit?” The young rogue asked. “Isn’t the Metaverse somewhat… infinite?”

“Its depth, very much so. But its reach? Not quite.” Justine waved a finger. “The convergence you call Mementos is nothing short of an anomaly. The collective palace that dwells in the subconscious of the masses is just a manifested concentration of minds in a crowded place like a city. I would not be surprised if it adopted another form in other areas depending on the population.” The calmed girl nodded, like accepting her own answer as an undeniable truth. “But enough of menial hypotheses, I think it’s time to… turn this plan up a notch, as your companions sometimes say.”

A blonde strike of thunder flashed in the young thief’s mind, alongside a very loud declaration of being a Phantom Thief. “Well, I’m open to any suggestions and ideas. Even those that are borderline deadly.”

The clipboard in the hands of the braided twin disappeared with a flash. “Good, for what I’m about to tell you might very well end up swaying you from proceeding with this plan, so listen, and listen well.” Upon hearing those words, even the foul mouthed Caroline became silent. “The only reason you can find a target here, in Mementos, is because in one way or another, they are part of this collective mind. People have heard of them, they have been seen, talked to, shared a moment or even are a great part of someone else’s life. In conclusion, they take a place here. They are tangible and palpable to the denizens of this city.”

“Then that means…” Akira tried to reach the conclusion by itself, but Justine accepted no such thing as an interruption of her speech.

“It means quite simply that your current target is so unfathomably unknown to the others in this city, that Mementos simply can not, and will not reach it by its own accord.” The colder of the twins answered, her hands on her hips in a gesture of superiority. “You can’t catch a ghost just because you’ve heard of it. Nor can you find a target here in Mementos just by knowing its name.”

“Wait…” The thief cladded in black started to pace around the entrance with frantic pace. “How can it be? I mean, sure, no one has heard of this Kuh guy, but Grace knows him well enough, and she lives here, doesn’t she?” He waved his arms in a desperate manner. “She’s part of this city, isn’t that enough?”

Caroline sighed. “If you want me to be honest, inmate, I’d say that she hasn’t been here long enough to be a complete part of this city.” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot a couple of times. “Even worse, I have the terrible feeling that she has lived wrapped in silence and secrecy, in fear of those guys at the army. And when you live that way, you’re just a face to the others. A face lost in a sea of faces. A tree lost in a forest.”

Justine clapped at the sudden stroke of inspiration coming from her usually coarse sister. “It’s like Caroline here says. Even if Grace were to form part of this consciousness, her link with the city is too weak for Mementos to be of any use in searching for someone.” Her eye showed a subtle hint of sadness, but instantly lighted up again, this time with a much more powerful blaze. “But that just means that we will have to ditch the middleman in favor of a more direct approach. More dangerous and potentially deadly, but even more effective than just wandering the depths in a cat-van.”

“Here it comes…” The angrier of the two twins rolled her eye.

“We’ll establish a direct connection between you, and Kuh, using Grace as the grand link.”

The answer came fast and with the same strength that a wrecking ball. “You are telling me… that we are going to reach Kuh by tapping onto Grace’s unconscious… directly?” Akira threw his hands in the air, a visible sign of defeat and lack of better ideas. “Sure, why not?”

“You, not we.” Justine corrected the young thief in her usual and merciless way. “But yes, that’s the simplest way to put it. Using Mementos’ structure as the base, Caroline and I will form a temporary extra room in here. A room that will let you access directly to your target, even if Mementos itself cannot.”

“Now is the time where I object that there must be a terrible drawback to this whole plan, isn’t it?” The thief gaze bounced between the twins.

Caroline struggled a little, but after clearing her throat, she spoke. “Listen, you already know how terrible it is for your health to fight inside the Metaverse, right? Well, if your body suffers just by being in here, you can only imagine what will happen when we use your mind as a link between Mementos and Grace.”

The realization came to him at the same speed as the bullet train. “Normally, Mementos exerts its aura onto you because you are fighting back when you use your powers. You can withstand the pressure because you enter the Metaverse with your whole being rather than just your mind. But…” Justine averted her eye from Akira’s gaze. “What we’re attempting to do, is akin to stitching up an incompatible organ onto an unwilling patient. The moment we link you to Mementos, it will try to assimilate you with excruciating force, seeping into any cracks it can find within your mind and soul.”

“What’s the worst case scenario?” The young rogue shuffled his hair, trying to compensate a little for the terrible implications the plan would carry.

“Worst case, your mind won’t be able to endure the crushing pressure of Mementos’ collective mind, and your whole being will crumble, resulting in a terrible amalgamation between a human and a shadow.” The braided twin sighed with visible sadness. “If it comes to that, we would have to end your suffering right there. It’s the least we could do for you.”

Akira closed his eyes and swallowed what could very well be a rock in his throat. The mere thought of getting transformed into an abomination sent shivers to his very core. “Is there any way to delay that? Something that will give me enough time to get in and out?”

Caroline puffed her chest, just like when a hero is called in times of need. “Of course there is a way, inmate. And by some crazy, crazy miracle, you already have the means to increase your chances of victory.” The dashing rogue arched a brow in amusement, forgetting for an instant about the impending doom. “You see, the whole deal with having multiple Personas in you? That has more uses than just being able to do battle.”

“It will allow you to withstand the mental onslaught, at least for a longer period of time.” Sentenced Justine, nonchalantly interrupting her twin.

“Hey! It was my moment now!” The more boisterous of the two exclaimed, visibly hurt by the interruption.

Her sister giggled a little, amused by the childish demeanor of her sister. “Apologies, Caroline, but we need to act quickly. Lest we risk our valiant trickster losing all of his momentary courage.” She waved her finger, seizing the attention of the teenager. “Just as my sister said, the many personas inside of your mind will provide you with enough layers of protection to last a while inside the vortex that is the collective consciousness of the masses.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt the underground train, raging through the twisted tracks and corners of Mementos, the dying breeze that seemingly seeped across the place, the unending dread crawling through his spine. “I’ll take whatever I can. Even if I end up saving only one life, I’ll give it my all.” He clenched his fists, and sparked the collective group that dwelled well within his soul. “No time to lose, it's showtime.”

Both twins nodded, and in one extremely complicated and coordinated effort, both did a somersault, ending up a significant distance away from each other and the dashing rogue. Caroline cracked her baton with fury, eliciting azure sparks from the artifact, whilst Justine summoned back her clipboard, canalizing an indescriptible amount of power through it, making the pages flutter around in chaos. “By the power invested on us by our master, we, the keepers of power shall grant you your wish, and open the path to reach beyond Mementos.” In that very moment, Akira felt a very sharp pain in the base of his head, just as if someone had prodded into his brain with a needle. “We command you, open!”

With a monumental explosion of power that almost blew the thieves’ leader away, a portal suddenly made its appearance inside Mementos. A violent, crimson vortex, even more violent and twisted than others that he had seen during his voyages, filled with an energy so dreadful that even the twins flinched when it unleashed itself inside the entrance. So malevolent was in fact, that he actually felt how it tried to suck him into whatever pandemonium laid inside of it.

“Are those… screams?” The twin with the buns asked with evident panic in her voice. “Screams! A-and… sobs and cries for help! Just what are you getting into, inmate?!”

Akira sharpened his senses. Indeed, from inside the vortex, and in irregular intervals, screams could be heard, accompanied by some sobs and cries. “I can easily assure that this is hell where I’m walking into.” He took a step towards the portal, an aura of defiance emanating from him with a strength that could easily rival the hellish vortex itself. “But, so be it. My title of ‘King of Thieves’ is at stake, and I don’t intend to back out now.”

“Remember well, inmate!” Justine shouted, trying to get her voice heard over the painful screams. “The moment you find yourself walking towards a scorching crimson light, it is the moment your life is almost forfeit! You must not reach its end!”

The rogue nodded and after making sure his dagger and gun were within his coat, he ran towards the portal, no doubt left inside his mind.

**_“Soar, my friend! Soar and let your wings cover the crimson sun! Let them fear the name of The Pillager of Twilight!”_ **

Those words, accompanied by a thunderous cheer coming from the personas inside him, were the last thing he heard before disappearing through the portal.

“I pray that you successfully finish this terrible final act and reach the end safely.” The single braided twin sighed, tired. “And I also pray that you don’t find more than you bargained for.”


	12. Showdown: Sacrifice

Crossing through the vortex had been the most surreal experience that Akira has had in all of his adventures into the Metaverse. In one moment, he was jumping into hell itself, two small wardens holding up the frightening portal for him, and in the next one, he was traversing through what could only be described as ‘a terrible limbo’. A full mass of nothingness, crowned by a plethora of whispers, cries, shouts and pleas that drowned his consciousness like a raging stream. The master thief drifted through the space with the same adamant resolve he had whilst jumping towards his greatest challenge yet.

After what could possibly be some minutes, or even just some instants (his mind wasn’t sure, and even less with the constant drilling in his head, the ever permanent reminder of the clock ticking against him) the black-haired teen found himself exiting from the terrorific daydream he had been in, and now his figure stood alone in a narrow hallway.

A stone hallway stretched itself forward like an ominous snake, dim lighting and muffled sounds reigning supreme across its walls.

“It’s showtime.” The rogue perked himself up with his usual catchphrase, and without wasting another second, he walked in the only direction the foul place allowed him to go: Forward.

He walked with a powerful stride, one that didn’t allowed any hesitation nor fear in his mind. Not because he lacked any, but because he knew very well that even if he were to lie down and curl up in fear and panic, the result would be the same. Failure meant certain death, whilst the slim chance of victory only provided him with the possibility of saving two lives.

Step by step, the muffled sounds and poor lighting gave way to a hellish red hue that drowned his vision, and his ears became engulfed by the vicious roar of what could very well be a massive convocation of beasts, awaiting for fresh prey.

However, what he found at the end of the stairs that suddenly went upwards, towards an unknown area, was nothing like he had ever experienced in all of the time he had donned the mask of the mythical Joker.

Behind him, a tortuous tunnel, filled with stagnant air and poisonous aura. In front, the most grotesque and inhuman spectacle he had ever seen. An arena, like those he had seen once in his history books, made with white marble, once pristine, now stained and desecrated with what could possibly be the blood of countless innocents and victims of oppression. The bleachers that surrounded the main stage, where filled to the brim with countless and countless black shadows, each and every one of them acting like rabid animals, shouting, gesticulating, at the verge of throwing themselves onto the main grounds.

And in the center, a vision that made it extremely clear that he was inside the subconscious mind of the one they called: “Major General Kuh”. A gallows, erected in the dead center of the arena. Serving as executioner, an old man, white pristine uniform adorned with countless medals that now gleamed with a distinct red shimmer, hair filled to the brim with white hairs, and in his right hand, a cane, possibly the only thing that prevented him from meeting the ground head on (Akira would work on that, later.).

“I’m a man of my word, Gentleman!” Kuh shouted to his rabid audience. “I promised we would hang a traitor, and today, we’ll see a hanging!” And with absolute prejudice, he proceeded to whack what seemed to be a helpless prisoner already installed in the gallows with the cane in his hand.

The master thief clenched his fists, suppressing the sudden urge to just blitz through the field and knock the lights out of that piece of human garbage. For what he had just whacked, was nothing more than a mannequin, fully dressed in military attire, and donning a very, VERY distinctive set of items: A beanie, round glasses, and a not very subtle wig with twin braids and a few stripes of white hair.

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but for a man as daft and stuck-up as Kuh, this absurd dress up mannequin was nothing more than the way his mind represented Grace.

Akira eyed his surroundings. As far as the shadows in the bleachers were concerned, he was invisible, or simply didn’t exist for them. The only thing that captured their unwavering attention, was the execution that would promptly be carried. Once again, he focused on the gallows. The mannequin played its part to perfection. Rigid, its skin white and, once he took a more detailed look at its face, he noticed that it had X’s scribbled instead of eyes and no mouth whatsoever. Surely Grace would find the gesture, “heart-warming”,

The dashing rogue hugged the left wall of the entrance to the tunnels, as his instincts always told him, and, sharpening his senses, he focused on Kuh. Even when he appeared to be a decrepit old man, the young thief’s sharp gaze and sixth sense told him that beneath his medal encrusted clothes, something much more sinister lurked. Time may had done its thing to Kuh’s body, but, for the way he acted and his pose, it wasn’t hard to imagine that, many years ago, that senile old fool was once a powerful man, brimming with energy and enough muscle to kick a runt like him into the dust.

“ _ I just want this to end _ .” A painful cry of help flashed in the mind of the cunning teenager. It was sudden, but it was clear enough to hear it above the constant drilling and pain in his brain. “ _ Can’t this end now? _ ”

Kuh hit the mannequin once more, this time, in the ribs, probably expecting it to contort and cry in pain. But the humanoid construct kept its immutable posture, no signs of life in its visage.

“ _ Ah, you still want some entertainment from me, old fart? _ ” The voice rang clear through Akira’s mind, soothing a little bit of the pain his brain was experiencing. “ _ What does it take for you to go on with this so called ‘execution’? _ ”

The evidence was too overwhelming to rule any other possibility than the one that vehemently claimed that the mannequin Kuh was torturing in front of an audience of rabid shadows, was no other than the Metaverse representation of Grace and a piece of Grace’s mind itself, and in turn, it meant that the whole arena the master thief was standing in that same instant, was nothing more than the most condensed version of a palace the Metaverse was able to muster. A pretty good effort, considering it was the combination of three minds hastily sewn together by sheer force of will.

Akira eyed the pale face of the mannequin once more. With no lips, and apparently no eyes whatsoever, it was impossible that it could talk for everyone to hear. No mouth, no voice, no way of speaking a single word: Hell itself. But then, what about the voice in his head? It was Grace, no doubt, but why could only him hear those cries of anguish? Perhaps… somehow, amongst the chaos that meant converging three minds together, Grace was able to latch onto his mind more than Kuh’s. That stronger conexion in turn, meant that only he was able to hear her voice in the Metaverse.

In an instant, the already penetrating pain he had been feeling since his arrival to the bloody arena suddenly increased in intensity, cutting his recent discoveries and thoughts short. If before the pain was like needles piercing into his brain, now it felt like a drill was slowly trying to access the root of his spinal cord, starting from the top of his head.

“ _ Focus, now’s not the time to ponder the effects of mind-merging. _ ” Akira fell to one knee, trying to manage the pain and, at the same, plan a quick rescue. “ _ These shadows are the main threat. The moment they spot me, I’m dead meat. _ ”

He probably wasn’t wrong. If the shadows were already furious and outraged by the meager show Kuh was providing for them, it would be safe to think that the moment their eyes made contact with the young rogue, they would pound over him like rabid and hungry dogs after being thrown a morsel.

His eagle eyes scanned the perimeter one last time searching for a less lethal route than just running through the middle in plain sight, but it was futile. There was absolutely no cover whatsoever between the entrance to the tunnel, and the gallows in the middle. For him to reach Kuh, it would require a sprint (most likely a desperate run) for almost 250 meters straight, all of this without taking into consideration the tidal wave of shadows that would assault him the moment he was spotted, and even without that, he still hadn’t figured if defeating Kuh was the priority, or saving Grace’s mannequin.

Worst of all? It seemed like his decision had been taken for him. Without his consent. “I think we’ve had enough fun with this ‘soldier’, eh people?” Kuh stopped the liberal whacking of his prisoner, and slowly made his way towards a very convenient lever, installed a few meters away from the mannequin. “Traitors must be punished. Soldiers who don’t listen to their superiors are bad. But soldiers that not only never listen, but also take their time to make their superiors look like buffoons? Now that, it’s what I’d propose for the maximum punishment available in the sacred institution that is the army: Capital Punishment.”

Mona never really described how sneaking from hiding spots actually worked. He simply gave the advice needed to perform such technique, and after a few tries, Akira had successfully mastered the art of traversing a few meters in a blink. It was an invaluable tool for those that worked in the shadows, like the Thieves’ Leader himself, but, was someone able to describe such a feeling? That simple instant when he flashed onto the backs of clueless shadows who discovered too late that a thief lurks behind every corner.

As complicated as it sounded, Akira now had performed what could very well be something impossible, even within Mementos or the Metaverse itself. The moment he saw Kuh’s hand a few centimeters away from the lever that would send Grace’s manifestation into a literal hell, the rogue’s mind went into immediate overdrive.

For he knew, oh he knew all too well that actions in the Metaverse had consequences in the real world. And, in this case, the symbolic execution would most likely make the Kuh in the real world give the order to hunt down Grace once and for all. But he would have none of it.

In an instant, like the thieves immortalized in legends and tales, the master thief arrived onto the gallows, just besides Kuh. Without warning, without sound, poof, smoke or mirrors, Akira had just forced himself to traverse the 250 meters needed to reach the gallows in a single moment. An action that even him could not explain, even if he had the time to.

Before Kuh had a second to process what had just happened, the nimble rogue attacked: A quick horizontal slash with his dagger, aimed at the guts.

But Akira had also underestimated his opponent. His blow was parried in an act of superhuman reflexes by the old Major General using only his cane. However, the younger man had a very particular ace in his sleeve: Instinct. All this time, the raven haired teenager had been acting on instinct. Since the moment he had left the tunnel’s entrance, his mind had been fueled by raw instinct. And in a close quarters battle, that gave him the upper hand.

Taking advantage of the motion needed to attack with his dagger, and using the same kinetic energy, Akira proceeded to bash the left side of Kuh’s head with his left hand. A very solid punch, somewhat weakened by the hasty maneuver, but effective nonetheless against an opponent with more years, and less body strength than him. But a single blow wasn’t enough for the rogue, because he knew deep inside, that if you don’t make sure your opponent is finished, it will simply get back up again. Over, and over again.

With a single movement, and taking advantage of his great agility and nimbleness, the Thieves’ Leader sweeped off Kuh with his left leg. A single gasp escaped the old man’s lips, his eyes shimmering with evident fury towards his unknown assailant.

Kuh slammed against the floor with a sonorous thud, which made him writhe in pain thanks to already aging articulations and muscles, most notably, his back.

But victory was still too far ahead for the raven haired teenager. A quick look over the horizon made a shiver run down his spine, for the possibility he had dreaded so much was happening before his eyes: the shadows were jumping off the bleachers and were now running frantically at him.

Hundreds of dark humanoids with red spheres for eyes thristed for his blood, in revenge for their (literally) fallen commander.

Sadly for them, the Phantom Thief wasn’t going to wait for the tidal wave of darkness to just crash over him and tear him apart, limb by limb.

With another demonstration of his grace and agility, the teenager did a backflip, landing just besides the mannequin. Grasping his knife once again, he proceeded to cut the rope that precariously kept it hanging in the air and with his free hand, he catched it before it could even graze the wooden floor of the gallows. Surprisingly, it was quite lighter than he had imagined.

“ _ This… this is… who are you? _ ” The voice of Grace resonated once more on his mind, giving him a little respite amongst the terrible fate of being torn apart by shadows and a terrible, terrible headache. “ _ You… you just saved me… why? _ ”

The young man sheathed his knife and carefully accomodated the mannequin within his arms, princess carry style. “Let’s just say that I’m the friend of a friend.” He gave it a smile with all his strength and charm, even if his head was pounding nonstop and the pain worsening by the second. “And that friend wanted me to come and help you solve your little ‘problem’”

Incredible as it may sound, he felt the mannequin tremble a little at his words. “ _ The promise… he kept it.” _ A faint glow of warmness irradiated from the rigid body of the construct, possibly at the memory of a certain young man gallantly standing amidst a sea of chaos and sadness. “ _ I’m glad… so glad.” _

“We can be glad together, as soon as we get out of this small predicament, alright?” Akira tightened his grip over the impromptu hostage, and looking around him once more, carefully prepared his whole being for his next grand trick. “Now, I want you to be perfectly calm, okay? Don’t get anxious or anything. I’ll need to concentrate for a few moments.” The mannequin gave its silence as a gesture of approval.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm the now hellish pain in his brain, the everlasting reminder of a borrowed time that announced its end via an unrelenting torture. Once he felt that the pain was manageable, his eyes focused once more on the tidal wave approaching the gallows with unmatched ferocity. At their current speed, the mass of shadow would arrive in seconds. Their circular formation meant that retreating in a straight line would be akin to a suicide. But that wasn’t the plan.

“You bastard! You piece of shit, good for nothing, pompous bastard!” Kuh spouted from the floor, as he tried to stand once again, failing miserably in the process. “Wait until my army gets their hands on you! You’ll wish you were never born, you hear me! I’m going to make you suffer!”

“Yeah, good luck with that, old geezer.” Akira spat back, a smug smile on his face.

The wave came crashing down onto the young hero like Hell itself. Countless shadows extended their appendages with hopes of tearing his flesh from his bones, but sadly, all they could grasp an instant later, was the air of an empty space. 

And then it happened. The whole mass of shadows that at first were the spectators of a macabre spectacle, were now the spectacle themselves. They collided, one into another, just in the place where the gallows and Kuh were a few moments ago. The structure collapsed with a thunderous roar, and the wooden planks creaked in pain for their instantaneous and sudden end.

“ _ How… _ ” Grace’s voice interrupted the raven haired teen’s thoughts once more, a sure indication that his plan had, in fact, worked, and they weren’t in some terrible plane of purgatory.

Akira carefully placed the mannequin in the marble floor, just besides him, and then he slowly leaned onto the small marble barrier at his back. “Sorry, those are secrets of the trade.” Ah yes, that was the unmistakable feeling of joy at the simple pleasure of denying someone some crucial info. A bit petty, but it was his turn to be the secretive one. “As for our current location… we are just between the bleachers and the contention barrier at their feet. Pretty useless for containing maniacal shadows, but for now, they’re the best choice of hiding spots I’m afraid.”

A long silence passed before her voice could be heard in his mind again. “ _ So… does this mean that it’s over? _ ” The relief was almost palpable on her tone. “ _ Can I have my life back? _ ”

It was heartrending to hear those words from Grace’s voice, but the young man slowly nodded for the mannequin. “Yes. Yes I think so.” The gallant rogue shuffled his hair as a sign of relief. He couldn’t wait to get rid of what could possibly be the worst headache of his whole life. “Let me catch my breath for a moment and then we can get out of this dumpster.”

Lies, of course. Akira had to wait until the pain was manageable again before even attempting to get back up, but that was something he would have to keep to himself. Shockingly, now that he had the time to think a little more slowly and let the adrenaline of the moment pass, he could clearly see a crimson red tint in his sight. “ _ Ah, so that’s what the twins were talking about. _ ” He thought to himself.

“ _ Ah, but… is Kuh really dead? _ ” The voice asked.

The raven haired teen huffed. “I hope not. The bastard still has to answer for his crimes.” That answer was better than just explaining what death really meant inside mementos, and what could happen to their real world counterpart in that case. “I’m a thief, not a murderer.”

“NO ONE GOES ANYWHERE WITHOUT MY CONSENT!” A thundering voice suddenly boomed throughout the whole arena with the force of a thousand storms. “YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE THAT EASY, MAGGOTS??”

The ground started to rumble like some unholy beast had just made an emergency landing in the middle of the arena, whilst an overpowering aura exerted its pressure onto Akira’s whole body.

“HOW FOOLISH, HOW FOOLISH OF YOU TO SEEK A FIGHT AGAINST AN OPPONENT MILES OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE!!” The voice boomed again, shaking the ground with a second set of tremors. “MISTAKES LIKE THIS MUST BE PAID. IN BLOOD.”

“ _ W-WHAT IS THAT?! _ ” Grace’s panicked voice made its way onto Akira’s dumbfounded mind. “WHAT IS HAPPENING?! WHAT IS OUT THERE??”

The rogue slowly got back up and carefully peeked over the marble barrier, and what his eyes saw, made him realize that maybe, just maybe, this was one of those times where you enter a place to never leave again. “The devil himself…” The young man whispered to his innanimated companion.

In the center of the arena, instead of the gallows, or even of their wrecked ruins, stood a giant floating black sphere. What made this sphere so ominous and ill-omened was the fact that even amongst its pitch black color, Akira was able to clearly see that ‘things’ were moving beneath its surface. And that’s when he understood what he was going against.

It was the unholy amalgamation of all the rabid shadows on the arena, and Kuh. Well, technically, it was Kuh’s shadow, but that gave no solace whatsoever to the master thief.

“YOU THINK THAT HIDING WILL SAVE YOU FROM MY WRATH, INSECT?” The sphere boomed once more, making the arena tremble. “RUN AS YOU MIGHT, YOU SHALL NEVER ESCAPE.”

A sudden feeling of dread took hold of the Thieves’ Leader guts. He felt as if some sort of static passed throughout his whole body, leaving his hairs on end.

Then, hundred of little red orbs started to pop through the sphere’s surface. Menacing and bright red orbs that slowly but surely made their way from wherever they popped up in the first place, to a single point in the same sphere.

“Don’t tell me…” Akira mustered to himself, shocked.

There, shining in all of its unholy glory, the hundreds or even thousands of eyes proceeded to merge into one single and gigantic red eye, illuminating a vast portion of the arena with its dreaded crimson glow. “TIME TO PAY!!” The sphere shouted.

Now, even amongst all the chaos of the situation, the Thieves’ Leader was able to get some good and bad points about everything. First, it seemed that even if Kuh was now an infernal spawn, big as a sin, and possibly extremely powerful, it lacked the knowledge of the pair current whereabouts. That would explain the fact that the now menacing and massive red eye popping from the black sphere was pointing to a direction totally different to them. Which was good, for now. And second: Thanks to his gentle placement of the mannequin which contained Grace’s consciousness in this twisted realm of Mementos, it seemed like the whole affair that was happening right now fell just outside of its field of vision, sparing her from the unending dread he was now experiencing. If a mannequin had some sort of vision, of course.

Sadly, those were the only good points. Now came the horrible realization of the truth.

It was just a moment, but in that single moment, Akira’s instincts kicked in full, screaming for him to flee as fast as he could from there, leaving everything behind. Even Grace.

But he couldn’t, for what he witnessed in that damned instant, was enough to paralyze the veteran thief in his place.

The eye had just blasted an immeasurable amount of energy in a single blast towards a section of the bleachers, and just like that, the whole area vanished from existence.

“HMMMMMM.” The sphere seemed to contemplate the monumental disaster it had just made. “WELL, NO MATTER THE COST, I’LL BLAST THIS WHOLE PLACE TO PIECES IF NEEDED BE.”

Slowly, the eye started to move. The rogue didn’t think twice, and quickly retreated to his cover behind the barrier. He watched with dread as the crimson glow passed above their position, just to end up a few meters away from them.

It wasn’t so hard to guess what would come next.

With all the care he could afford in their feeble position, Akira grabbed the mannequin and started to slowly scurry away from the blast zone, using the barrier as a visual cover. He wasn’t sure how far he could go whilst almost crawling and with an inanimate object in his arms, but he had to try, lest he wanted to be sent flying thanks to the blast.

“ _ We’re moving? _ ” Grace quietly hushed into his thoughts. “ _ Is that thing gone? Are we safe? _ ”

The master thief let out a small groan of pain, the physical exhaustion now piling up with the tearing of his mind. “I don’t think so.” He kept his pace despite his deteriorated state. “If anything, we’re in more danger than ever.”

“ _ Show me. _ ”

“Huh?” He asked, so dumbfounded that even his steps were halted.

“ _ Show me. _ ” The voice asked once more. “ _ Show me what I have to fear. _ ”

Akira wanted so much to pinch his temples in defeat, but his mask and the mannequin in his arms made the task impossible. “As you wish.” He sighed.

The younger man peeked out first, just to double check that the Kuh-thing didn’t had second thoughts about his chosen area of destruction, and fortunately, the eye had just started its show.

He crouched down to his companion, and with care, he lifted the mannequin just above the marble barrier, so its eyes (or its crosses for eyes) could make direct line of sight with the ball of destruction. “Just in time for the fireworks.”

Another sudden blast of energy lighted up the arena for a moment, and a second later, a new portion of the marble bleachers had been reduced to nothing.

“This.” His voice came weaker this time, as he lowered the mannequin to the ground, safe behind the barrier. “This is what we have to fear.”

Grace’s voice didn’t answer this time. 

The younger man sighed once more. The silence felt too dense to go back into the same routine of just hiding alongside the construct, so, instead of sitting alongside it, he decided to carefully watch Kuh.

His eyes scanned the sphere with detail, trying to extract any information that would suggest that this behemoth had something akin to a weak point.

A sharp increase of his mind numbing pain threatened him with making him fall to the ground, but his desperate grip on the situation gave him enough grit to endure.

Maybe he could thank that determination later, for what he was able to see in the few moments he had been out of cover, was enough to give a small spark of hope.

Gasping, he took his place alongside his mute companion, taking care of not giving their whereabouts by accident. And then he prepared himself for what could possibly be the last plan he would ever make in his entire life.

He had seen it, in all of its glory. In the center of the gigantic eye, just for an instant, Akira was able to spot the unmistakable figure of Kuh. That could only mean that Kuh himself was the source of the energy used to blast the arena into smithereens, the eye itself only served as a gigantic amplifier, giving it a bigger destructive area.

Finally, after all that agony, the Thieves’ Leader had a plan to end the fight once and for all. But this plan had only one flaw. One  **fatal** flaw.

You see, Akira was now certain that the whole sphere was nothing more than an amalgamation of shadows and the owner of the impromptu palace, meaning that the moment Kuh fell, the shadows would follow suit, like a hivemind. That meant that a single, concentrated blow to the heart of the problem would be enough to slay the monster and save Grace. But to even get the opportunity to deal such a blow, it would meant for him to stand just in front of the same eye that had made a practical demonstration of its powers by disintegrating two parts of a grand arena like it was sand.

By enacting the final blow onto Kuh, Akira would also receive the full force of the blast himself, effectively making it a suicide.

The master thief was able to muster a weak laugh. He had come so far since the first time in the Metaverse just to end up pinned against a situation where the only way to win, was to offer his life in exchange for the victory.

But it was something only him could do. Only the leader of the Phantom Thieves could go face to face against death, and remain on equal footing with it.

He mentally scanned his subconscious to see how many personas he still had within him. From the twelve that entered with him, only two remained standing: Yoshitsune and Ársene.

_ “We’re in something of a dead end, aren’t we?”  _ Ársene mentally reminded him.  _ “If you are so sure that this is the only answer we can find in this darkness, then I say we make one last exit into the night. We lived as thieves, and we’ll die like heroes.” _

_ “I vowed to walk with you until you no longer needed me, or until our lives reached their end.”  _ Yoshitsune’s voice resounded with warmth.  _ “And I intend to see my duty fulfilled until the very last moment.” _

Akira smiled. Somehow, deep inside, he knew that if the rest of the ones that gave their existences to protect him from the mental assault were still alive, they would’ve said the same thing.

That was the reason why he would give this last plan a chance, with every ounce of his power.

“ _ You should just leave me. _ ” Grace broke the silence without warning, interrupting the solemn moment he was having with his personas. “ _ I’m just one soldier. One life in the grand scheme of things is nothing. I’ll understand if you decide to leave me here and just go. I won’t judge you, nor will I hate you for it. You came here, by request, just to save me, and you’ve done more than enough. I relieve you of your duties. _ ”

The younger man wanted to laugh heartily at such a defeatist comment, but the pain in his brain made it impossible. “I’m sorry, but I must refuse.” He answered with a whisper. “That’s not how I work. That’s not how  **The Phantom Thieves** work.”

“ _ The Phantom… Thieves?” _ Her voice cracked at the sudden realization.

“That’s right. Joker, member of the Phantom Thieves, at your service.” He shuffled his hair trying to mask his deteriorated state one last time, for her sake. “And we don’t take this job lightly. I promised you a rescue, and that’s exactly what you’ll get.” Akira looked at his hands and sighed. The red tint in his sight was almost the same intensity as his crimson gloves. A few minutes more, and that would be the end for his current state. After that, a beast would be born from his body, taking his life in the process.

That’s why he didn’t have any problem with giving his life for this cause. If he had to choose between dying and becoming a god-forsaken combination of a shadow and a human, or giving his life to ensure Grace’s safety, he would choose the later. A hundred times over.

Akira stood up. “Listen, and listen well, miss. I’m not really good with farewells, so I think this will have to do.” He searched the inside of his trenchcoat for his holster, and carefully extracted the handgun that rested within. With unmatched skill he checked the magazine, and after making sure it was full, he loaded the gun and cocked it once. “I’m going to end this job, and I’m afraid that it will take my life to see it finished.”

“ _ Wait, Joker… you mean…! _ ” Grace’s voice tried to object with him but to no avail.

“Yes. I’m going to take down Kuh, in exchange for my life” He could hear his older companion trying to say something else, but he wouldn’t allow it. Not this time. “So, I’m telling you this, once. Your friend and I sacrificed a lot to get here. We promised to give everything to see you safe once more, even our lives. And that’s what I intend to do. Surely he’s going to do the same. I’m afraid that you won’t see him or me ever again. Sorry.”

“ _ N-no! No! No no no no no! Joker! Akira’s just… he’s just...! _ ” The mannequin started to tremble with violence, a fact that only made it harder for the rogue to continue.

“A child?” He asked, sadness imprinted in his voice.

“ _ To hell with that! _ ” Her voice resonated with force in his mind. “ _ A child? A CHILD?! WHAT DO I CARE IF HE’S A CHILD?! He has done more for me than any other selfish adult in this rotten world! How can I live knowing that he died in my instead?! How will I live with his blood on my hands?!”  _ The voice sobbed a few times, trying to hold back the emotions. “ _ He’s young. He’s still so young. There’s a whole life ahead of him. I don’t think I’ll be able to live in a world without him.” _

“You’ll have to learn.” Akira answered, slowly walking away from the trembling mannequin. “You’ll learn, Grace.”

“ _ NO! WAIT! COME BACK HERE! JOKER!”  _ Those last words resonated in his mind for a few seconds, but he quelled them, before they could cause any further troubles.

And then he ran. He ran as fast as his fatigued muscles allowed him to run

Maybe he wasn’t just running towards the end, but also running from Grace. Running from her face, her eyes, her voice, her memory.

Akira wanted to think that this was the right choice, and not the only choice he had. He thought about his companions, the other Phantom Thieves. Would they be alright with their leader immolating himself just to save some adult? Would they replace him, given the chance? Maybe they would shed some tears, throw some tantrums, and, given some time, they would accept his ideal of a real Phantom Thief. The ideal that one must give everything in the pursuit of justice. Yes, that was better. That was a better ending that he deserved, but it was alright. He had already made his peace.

Once he had run a fair part of the arena, the Thieves’ Leader assumed his position: far from Grace, but close enough to the orb to guarantee a certain blow. He took aim, and without a second thought, he fired once.

To his surprise, the bullet didn’t ricochet as he initially thought it would, but rather made a shadow fall from the sphere and instantly disintegrate as it touched the ground. He had forgotten that the ball itself was made of shadows. Rather weak when alone, but scarily strong when together and acting as one, just like an army does. Kuh had seriously no imagination whatsoever for his own palace,

“TIRED OF PLAYING GAMES, MAGGOT?” Slowly, the sphere turned around to face the minuscule thief. The Kuh-sphere had felt the bullet, no doubt, but it was more like a little nib than anything else. “HAVE YOU ACCEPTED YOUR FATE?”

He shrugged. “Nah, I don’t think so.” Akira shot three more times, and three more shadows fell to their doom. “I just wanted to see your ugly mug one last time. A memory for posterity, you can say.”

The gigantic eye shone once more with a dreadful energy, something that the young thief felt with even more intensity than when he was hiding behind the barriers.

“YOU LIVED LIKE A FOOL, AND YOU WILL DIE LIKE ONE.” The sphere boomed, giving its sentence. “A CONDENSED DOSE OF OBLIVION WILL BE THE PERFECT PUNISHMENT.”

Finally, the time had come. The silhouette of Kuh was perfectly visible inside of the eye, and Akira had steeled his resolve just for this very moment. He aimed once more with his gun and calmly invoked his last reserves of power.

_ “At your orders, we shall tear the villain apart. Together.”  _ Yoshitsune spoke.

_ “Let us go in a blaze of glory!”  _ Ársene agreed.

The light emanating from the colossal eye was almost blinding, and the static was unbearable, but nothing of that mattered. It was just Kuh, and him. “It’s Showtime!” 

His finger slowly squeezed the trigger as the light blazed in his eyes.


	13. Showdown: Critical Mass

“H-hey… Justine? What was that?”

The twin wardens had been standing outside of the vortex for a good while, waiting for the Trickster to finish his (almost) suicide mission. Ever patient, ever vigilant, they would not let anyone get in. Or out, at least not without strict confirmation that whatever thing that had crawled out of that hell wasn’t a creature made out of nightmares.

“You felt it too, Caroline.” The single braided twin gripped her clipboard with unusual strength. “This… ‘surge’ of energy. This indescribable feeling…”

Caroline’s legs became a little wobbly at the sudden anger shown by her sister. “Nonononono, Sis!” She mustered some courage to try and talk her twin down. “Don’t make it personal! It’s just a burst of energy! I don’t think it’s that important…”

“Then describe it to me.” Justine answered coldly, regaining her usual composure. “Describe to me what you just felt.”

The girl with the twin buns scratched her chin a bit. “To describe this feeling…” She tilted her head to the right, trying to grasp such a complex concept. “I’d say… that it felt like… a battlecry!” Caroline jumped a little bit in the last part of her answer, visibly excited for her conclusion.

Her sister let out a curtsy laugh. “A battlecry. Yes, that indeed sounds like you, dear sister.” She answered, amused by her more feisty sibling. “It was a cry all right… but I feel that the exact nature of that cry is in what we differ.”

“You mean…”

“I can’t shake off this feeling of anxiety.” Justine closed her eye for a brief moment. “I can’t help but overthink this. What if this isn’t just a burst? What if… what if this is just the cry of a being that gave its last breath in a terrible confrontation? What if…”

Caroline gasped. “You can’t possibly mean that… the inmate!” Fear was now palpable in her voice, the batton trembled in her hand. “I told him! I told him that this would be suicide! Why is that human so damn stubborn?! Sacrificing his life just because of some woman, forsaking the whole world to destruction just because of a whim!” She stomped the floor with fury. “We should’ve stopped him! Damn! We allowed this to happen! There’s no telling what our master is going to do to us!”

The angrier twin suddenly felt a little hit on her forehead. “I’m sorry about my earlier musings, dear sister. It seems that I inadvertently went for the worst possible conclusion, and that has brought you despair. I’m truly sorry.” Justine had just bumped her with the clipboard in her hands in an attempt to break her sibling out of her trance.

Caroline pouted a little bit, trying to stop the tears from flowing out. “Don’t do that, okay?! I get scared just thinking about these things.”

Her sister nodded. “If it makes you feel better, I have another theory. Without the whole ‘doomsday’ panorama.” Justine smiled a little bit. “What if, this wasn’t a cry of defeat, but rather, one of awakening?”

“Awakening?” Caroline arched a brow at the new theory. “And what would awaken inside that hellish vortex?” She pointed a finger to the chaotic portal swirling alongside them.

“I don’t know.” She answered. “But maybe it comes from someone who was just experiencing a dream, and has now awakened from their slumber. It is not a sign of the end, but rather, one of the beginning.”

“I’ll never understand you, sister.”

“Maybe it’s better that way. It’s your charm after all.”

“W-what?!”

* * *

Death had a very different feeling to how Akira had imagined it. Right now, it felt like the rest he so much deserved after a grueling battle against Mementos and a power hungry general of the South Korean army.

He was waiting for the nothingness, the eternal oblivion of the afterlife. But it was nothing like that. Rather, it was quite the opposite. He could think clearly now, no traces of the agonizing pain twisting his brain like a sponge, something for which he was extremely grateful.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that he had died inside of Mementos. He was not a shadow in the Metaverse, but a human who had traversed the barrier between those two worlds and had lost his life in the other side. Maybe he would be stuck in that state of serenity for the rest of his foreseeable future. For eternity.

On that topic, the last blow he received didn’t feel at all like an explosion. He had received countless blows from the shadows, some of them included lightning, fire, small localized explosions and even ice. But that last one? The coup de grace? It felt like a very violent push instead of a numbing explosion.

That’s right. He even felt the sudden blow of his head against the gravel of the arena.

Anyway, the thing was, that he only had to feel that terrible feeling once, for now, he was at peace and resting.

But, there’s no such thing as rest for the wicked. Even less when the wicked are part of the Phantom Thieves.

Akira felt his consciousness coming back from the cozy void of nothingness where he had been roaming for a little while. And with his consciousness it also came back the terrible head splitting headache from before, but not quite as strong as before. If anything, it was more manageable than when he was about to take down Kuh alongside him.

He heard a muffled voice. It was telling him something, but his mind still lingered between a dream and the terrible feeling that somehow, his time wasn’t over yet.

Slowly, his eyelids parted from each other. His vision was still blurry, but he could make something out of the fog in his eyes. It was a figure. It was someone else, just in front of him.

The rest of his senses came after that. He felt the cold marble against his back, he tasted something akin to blood mixed with gravel in his mouth. The air smelled like earth. Freshly dug earth. Oh, and sweat. His sweat.

He felt a nudge on his shoulders. Gentle, but in quick succession. And the voice… the voice was telling him something. He could almost hear it… it was saying…

“Joker!”

The master thief felt a jolt of electricity as his whole being jumped into alert mode, his Phantom Thief instinct kicking in full.

“You’re alive! Thank goodness!”

Akira felt as two arms embraced his upper body and trapped him in a gentle hug. For the first time in his life as the mighty Joker, the young man had forgotten how to act in such a situation. “Y-yes. I’m alive. Very much so.” As the embrace dissolved, the last remainders of his blurry vision left his sight.

“You’re such an idiot!” Grace scolded him as softly as she humanly could. “Sacrificing yourself? Learning to live alone? Bullshit!”

It was Grace, in the flesh. There was no more mannequin. The woman he had always known was standing right in front of him, donning the graceful uniform of the 707th squad of the South Korean army: The White Tigers. 

He checked her, and kept checking her. Everything was there: The beanie with the 707 sewn, the big round glasses, the white stripes on the hair, the twin braids and lastly, in her combat armor, the flag of South Korea adorned her left arm, whilst the emblem of the white tigers adorned the right one.

“It was a great plan when you were stiff as a mannequin, mind you.” The younger man retorted, fighting back the urge to smile sheepishly like a fool. “When you’re alone on the field, extreme measures become the only measures.”

The raven haired woman let out a small giggle as she carefully helped her companion to lean against the marble barrier. “Whoever taught you that clearly knows nothing about warfare.” Once the rogue was sitting on the floor, she sat alongside him. “The most important and unspoken rule of warfare is… that no one gets left behind.”

“No one, huh?” He let out a long sigh. “That sounds nice.”

“Well, you got another brilliant idea, Mr Phantom Thief?” She arched an eyebrow.

“Besides getting out of here?”

“Kuh’s still alive and standing, mind you. I doubt we would be able to leave with him still playing the role of obliterator of arenas.”

Right, Kuh. Bad guy, general of the South Korean army, all around asshole and now, a monstrous sphere of destruction with an eye that shoots blasts of energy. “But I sorta finished him?” Akira asked, somewhat confused by the squestion.

“Oh, right. That was my fault. Sorry.” Grace facepalmed a little for dramatic effect. “I tackled you. Hard.”

The rogue looked at his older companion with disbelief. “You what?”

“Hey, you were about to play martyr with that damn eye! You left me behind! I was furious. So furious in fact, that my mannequin state was somehow reversed.” She lifted her hands in protest. “In my defense, I can assure you that the tackle was to save your life and not an act of petty vengeance.”

“B-but, the blast!” Akira tried to move his arms but his body was still hurting badly. “How did we survive the blast of energy??”

The raven haired woman smiled with her usual smugness. “An eye is an eye, doesn’t matter how big it is.” When her companion seemed to not understand her point yet, she picked up a little bit of the gravel that littered the marble floor and slowly rubbed her fingers together. “As I ran towards you, I took a fistfull of gravel from the arena’s floor. And then, just as I tackled you from the side, I threw it right at that gigantic eye.”

The surprise in his face must’ve been pretty obvious to Grace, for she laughed a few times before cleaning her fingers on her pants.

“So, that made the eye miss the shot?” Akira asked, still processing the surrealness of the feat.

“Better.” She answered, crossing her arms. “The eyelids closed at the same moment the blast was fired. You can imagine how much damage that did.”

If Grace was already amazing in his eyes, now she had achieved legendary status. “That explains why we aren’t hearing any more explosions. Well played.”

Grace sighed. “Yeah, but don’t get too comfortable.” She heard soft ‘figures’ coming from his lips. “Kuh will probably ditch some of his protective minions in favor of reconstructing his weapon of mass destruction. And he won’t be very happy about this friendly fire incident.”

The master thief scratched his chin. “Then we don’t have much time left. Any chances of repeating the self destruct protocol?”

“We can blind him, yes, but I doubt that he will blast himself to death again. He may be an asshole, but he’s a General.” The older woman searched the pockets and various pouches attached to her combat armor and uniform, but found nothing of value. “Besides, I’m dry. There’s not even a single bullet on me right now. If we are to blind him, we need at least a stunning grenade.”

What a coincidence. What a marvelous, unexpected coincidence, because a master thief never goes into the Metaverse unprepared. A certain cat said that. And just by sheer luck, Akira never left his house without a few tools of the trade: A master key for locked chests, a few doses of powerful medicine in case of injury, a firecracker, a smoke bomb, for those moments where you just had to run away. And a flashbang, just because it was better to be safe than sorry.

Slowly, the teenager pulled his trenchcoat, and carefully extracted what could barely be called a homemade stunning grenade. Or a glorified elongated tube with some circuitry attached to it, whichever was easier. “Would this do the trick?” He asked, an awfully smug smile on his lips.

Grace’s eyes were wide in surprise. “How long is the fuse?” She asked.

“Five seconds.” Akira answered. “By the way, where’s my gun?”

“You see, that’s a funny story.” His older companion tried to smile but it was obvious that she was ashamed of telling the truth. “My tackle was so powerful that it ended up leaving you unconscious. And as you can guess, when you hit the ground, your gun fell off your hand. Seeing as you obviously could not get away on your own, I took the selfless decision of carrying you on my shoulder to safety. And that’s where we are now. Safe.”

The rogue thanked how much resilience and endurance he had gained through his adventures in the Metaverse. “Then you’ll be in charge of blinding Kuh.” He handed Grace the flashbang with care. “Seeing that I’ll have to actually stab someone instead of using a gun to save me the hassle, I think that’s a pretty good deal.”

Grace eyed the bomb in silence. She really wanted to argue the arrangement of roles, but she understood the feeble position in which they were. “Five seconds, right?”

“Five seconds exactly.” He answered, unsheathing his trusty dagger and examining it for any damage. “Now, for our attack plan, we’ll surround Kuh with a pincer movement. If we stick together we’ll be an easy target for him. If what you said is true, a big number of his forces were obliterated by his own attack. Those minions are not endless, so he will have to thin the armor in some places to compensate for the lost parts. As long as my hypothesis is correct, the moment you blind him, Kuh will think that the whole fiasco will repeat again, so he’ll use more of those shadows to cover up his eye, leaving the back completely exposed to my dagger. Then it’s just a matter of me reaching him fast enough to guarantee the blow. Is this plan acceptable?”

His older companion nodded with a smile on her face. “Now this, this is a beautiful plan.” She softly punched Akira on the arm. “Leave the distraction to me. Go save the day, Mr Phantom Thief.”

Without another word, both went their separate ways.

As Akira slowly covered the length needed to reach his position, he started to realize that this was the only moment in his life where he had seen how Grace was in the past. The uniform had been a surprise, of course. But the rest? The rest was equally mind boggling.

She had tackled him just to spare him from a miserable ending. Broke free from the terrible prison Kuh had devised for her in that forsaken corner of Mementos, and most importantly, she had just shouted at him that she didn’t want to live in a world without him. Even if that part was meant for Akira Kurusu, rather than Joker.

Once in position, it was just a matter of waiting for the signal.

“Hey Kuh, did you like to have gravel in your eye?” Grace’s voice echoed throughout the arena. “Pretty embarrassing for an old fart like you to have something exploding in his face, eh?”

“GRACE NAM.” The terrifying roar shook the arena once more. “YOU ESCAPED DEATH ONCE. I WON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE TWICE.”

“Oh you poor fool.” The master thief thought to himself as he began the countdown.

“You had your chance, Kuh. An army who only does one thing will crumble and collapse the moment the enemy learns to fight in other ways.” Three, Two, One. “NOW, JOKER!”

The sonorous bang signaled the beginning of the end. Akira jumped the marble barrier, and once his feet were firmly planted on the arena, his whole body entered overdrive.

Once again, with every fiber of his being, he ran towards the black sphere. And just like it had predicted, the sphere was moving the shadows alongside its body to protect the eye from any further damage. It was a shame that the eye was focused on Grace, who was on the opposite direction, leaving Kuh’s back totally open for a quick stab from a renegade hero.

But destiny had other plans.

Halfway through, Akira’s exhausted body started to shut down. His legs were cramped, his lungs hurt, his hands were shaking, and worst of all, his headache never fully subsided. He had been fighting non-stop against the odds, and now he had to pay the price.

It was despair all over again. With each step, the Thieves’ Leader felt like his legs would just give up and he would end up crashing against the ground. Every step, he had to use every ounce of willpower to just keep running. But that was quickly coming to an end.

“You got this, pal.” A deep and soothing voice echoed in his mind. “A little bit more.”

It wasn’t just any voice, it spoke to him in English.

“You’re already this far, what’s a few meters more?” Another powerful voice spoke in English.

“Do or do not, kid. There’s no inbetween.” A more feminine voice spoke this time, in perfect Japanese.

After that, the voices became a chorus. Even when most of them spoke in a language Akira had never even heard before, he was sure that every single one was trying to do the exact same thing: Encouraging him to finish the battle once and for all.

He had found his second air. New energy prevented his legs from losing the pace, his lungs stretched to their maximum capacity to keep the air flow nice and steady and his grip on the knife became solid again. His whole body was once more on the race.

The ground trembled once more, but he paid it no mind. 

The end was in sight, Kuh’s back could be seen protruding from the black sea of shadows that was the dark orb.

Akira steeled every single muscle he had in his body, and aided by the ethereal voices he had heard before, he jumped.

Grace never actually saw Joker jump, or if he had successfully stabbed Kuh as he had promised, but the moment she saw the gigantic eye open again, writhing in pain, she knew that everything was over.

Little by little, the thousands of shadows that composed the sphere, slowly started to separate from the main body, and, without a central force to keep them combined, resigned themselves to hit the ground and disappear like dust.

The nefarious sphere that once was the sole dictator of the small arena inside mementos, came crashing down with a rumble. Every shadow disintegrated upon contact with the ground, and soon enough, the only ones standing in the center of the arena were a defeated Kuh lying on the ground, and a exhausted Joker kneeling a few meters away from him.

Akira gasped with every ounce of strength he had left in him. At this point, the pain in his body was surreal. The headache had subsided even more by then, but the fact was, that if by some miracle he was allowed to get to his bed in LeBlanc, the moment his head hit the pillow would be the last moments of consciousness for a long, long time.

He tried to lift himself from the floor, but his legs were out. In vain he ordered them to move. That’s when he felt a gentle arm around his, helping him to get up once again.

“We can’t have a mighty Phantom Thief on the ground, can we?” The older woman asked softly, a smile of relief in her lips. “A hero must always stand proud.”

The teenager chuckled a little, and with the help of Grace, he stood proud once more. “You and me both.” He smiled back. “We did this together. Never forget it.”

“You..won’t get away… with this…” Kuh squirmed in the floor, coughing violently. “Traitors must… must be…”

It seemed that the senile General still had some fighting spirit left inside of him.

“There are no traitors here, old man.” The thief replied, walking a few steps towards him. “Those traitors are in your mind. If anything, you’re the real traitor, Kuh.”

Kuh searched in vain for his cane. It had vanished during the sphere’s final crash. “I am no traitor, scum!” The general spat back, using his feeble arms to prop up his hurting body. “My duty is to protect my country from traitors! From people like her!” He pointed at Grace with his finger.

“You used every single mean at your disposal to prevent Grace from ever achieving her full potential.” Akira deflected his words. “Your rank is Major General, yet you entered a squabble against a soldier. Isn’t your duty to ensure the ones under your command don’t give their lives in vain? But you didn’t. You felt so attacked that you twisted your mission into a witch hunt. Being a traitor doesn’t mean you have to sell your country for money, Kuh. It can also mean to betray those that rely and trust you.”

Silence fell onto the arena. The once fierce masquerade Kuh had put on was now slowly crumbling away from his wrinkled face. “You… you know nothing.” His voice came broken and weak. “How can any of you understand how wars change a man? Back then, two wars shaped the entire world. And even now, our country is always against the wall, thanks to a maniacal egomaniac that thinks he’s god! An army is as strong as the man who commands it!”

“Bullshit.” Grace’s voice interrupted Kuh’s angry monologue. “That’s bullshit and you know it! The strength of an army is equal to the weakest of its links! You think we aren’t ready to give our lives for our country? We have an obligatory military service! I entered the army wanting to return something to my country! But you… you made it my personal hell!”

Akira was absolutely silent, it was time for his older companion to face her demons. And emerge victorious.

The old general sat with his legs crossed. His head hanging low with shame. “I also entered the army out of love for my country. Back then, things were different. I lived in a different way.” He sighed, slumping his shoulders. “We were told to just obey. Obedience was the foundation of our country, and defiance was the seed that could destroy an entire nation. We were told to fear it, despise it, exterminate it.”

“You said it, no?” The raven haired woman let out a constrained laugh. “War changes people. But, as people change, so does the world. Things that back then were the norm, now are nothing more than sour memories. We are no longer limited to a single line of thought, our inventions go far beyond the need for destruction. As we destroy, we create. As we invent, we move forward. Individuality and freedom are things that people hold dearly in their hearts. It fuels their souls, and in turn, pushes them into achieving acts of greatness.”

Kuh had listened to Grace’s grand speech in awe. In the corners of his eyes, tears started to form. “I’m old. I’m too old.” He tried to hold back the sad realization, but it had bursted into his heart. “I let my pride and stubbornness get in the way. I failed my troops, my countrymen and women. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”

His tears fell from his face into his pants and the arena. For the first time in the history of that macabre and bloody arena, something else dripped into its corrupted foundation.

“You know what you have to do now, don’t you?” Akira spoke with his usual and solemn tone. “You have to make things right. Free Grace from her shackles, stop the harassment and the attacks against her. Give yourself to the authorities and confess your crimes. It won’t be easy, and it will take your entire life to do so. But you must do it. You must right every wrong.”

Kuh nodded emphatically, tears falling everywhere. “I’ll do it! It’s the least I can do to honor my compromise with the army.” He prostrated towards Grace. “Grace Nam! I swear upon my family’s name that you will never hear from me again! Your life is yours, and yours alone. The only thing that I ask of you, is that you forgive the South Korean army. Not me, I’m the only one responsible for your hell. But, please, forgive your brothers and sisters in arms. I beg of you.”

“They’re forgiven, old man.” Grace smiled with relief. “You just make sure to pay for every crime, alright?”

“I will! You have my word…!” The last sentence echoed in their ears as Kuh slowly disappeared into a golden glow.

At the end, the rogue and the soldier were the last ones standing on the ring of blood. The ethereal memories of their desperate struggle becoming more and more dreamlike.

“What happens now…?” Grace looked at her companion with a mix of sadness and relief. “Do I just wake up, and forget about this? Is that what you do, Joker?”

Akira shuffled his hair like always and gave her a sad smile. “What happens now, is whatever you want to happen.” He approached the older woman and gently put his hands on her shoulders. “If this ends up as a nightmare or a dream, it is up to you. I came here to save you and that’s all that matters to me.”

Her eyes avoided his gaze. “You remind me of him… a lot. Your courage, your determination, your terrible, terrible penchant for almost suicidal plans. Your gentle eyes…”

“And what if I am like him?” He cupped her cheek with his hand. “It’s my charm what’s making you fall for me, or the fact that I am like someone else?”

“That’s the worst part.” She sighed. “I don’t really know if it’s you or my memory.”

Akira slowly let go of Grace. “Then, my dearest Grace, I suggest that you think hard about this conundrum.” He walked towards the tunnel. “Now that you won’t have to run and hide, I think you’ll have more than enough time to figure this out. Until then.”

The legendary thief, Joker, mastermind and leader of the Phantom Thief guided his steps towards the tunnel leading to the exit of that small and hellish dimension, localized within a bad dream and the darkest corner of Mementos.

“Akira!”

A sudden shout made the teenager stop in his tracks and look back at the arena.

“Thank you Akira!” Grace was shouting at him, tears flowing freely from her eyes. “I’ll be sure to tell you the next time we meet! Until then, wait for me!”

Akira couldn’t answer in time, as the older woman slowly turned into a golden light and vanished from the arena.

* * *

“It’s been too long!” Caroline groaned as she tapped her foot. “He’s dead! Deader than dead! Why are we still waiting here, sister?”

Suddenly, just like a miracle, Akira emerged once more from the vortex, which instantly closed once he was completely out.

“You see?” Justine chuckled at her sister’s expression. “The inmate deserves a little bit more of faith. Welcome back, inmate.”

The daring rogue gave them a thumbs up. “Mission accomplished.”

“Foolish human!” The twin with the two buns made her baton crack with fury. “Stupid, stupid, stupid! What do you think you were doing?! You wanted to give me a heart attack?!”

“Now, now, sister. The inmate knew the risks, and he took the chance.” The ever composed twin stepped forward between the Phantom Thief and her sibling. “The hellish experience and the exhaustion are punishment enough, don’t you think?”

Caroline pouted and looked at Akira with anger. “Is that true? Did you have enough, inmate?”

“Yes. Absolutely.” He answered sincerely. “I feel ready to pass out at any moment whatsoever.”

He also forgot to add the fact that his head was now cured of the unbearable pain and his vision had went back to normal, but he felt that those details were unnecessary in the current conversation.

“Well then, that’s enough for me.” The angrier twin crossed her arms in a gesture of superiority. “Don’t ever ask us again for a favor like this or I’ll really punish you. Got it?”

Akira nodded.

“Let me heal your physical wounds.” Justine put her hands on his chest. “You still have to go home, after all.”

Just like magic, and without warning, the black haired teenager felt a good portion of his pain going away. 

He moved his arms and legs. “Amazing… I feel better already! Thanks, but I think I’ll be going now. I don’t want to cause you two any more trouble.”

Caroline stuck her tongue out. “Get out of here before I undo what my sister did.”

“Before you go, do you mind if I ask you a question?”

Justine’s question came out of the blue. “Yeah, sure. No problem.” The thief answered. He still had time for some shenanigans

“Why did you come alone?” The twin with the long braid asked, a subtle hint of amusement lingering in her tone. “You never thought about asking your companions?”

“Well, I did it because… because…” Akira felt a cold shiver running down his spine. “Because… it was an… emergency?”

It was a lie. A big, fat lie. The idea never even crossed his mind. He had acted on an impulse, like something compelled him to go all alone, without regard for his safety or survival. The question echoed in his mind, the dread was starting to set in.

“Not even your feline mentor?” Justine asked again, a smile on her lips.

Morgana. Morgana was the obvious choice when going to the Metaverse. He literally lived in his bag, it wasn’t even a question of calling someone and coordinating a meeting time. Then why… why did he went alone?

“You must never forget, dearest inmate. That just as fate schemes with you, it also schemes against you.” The cold twin let out a giggle. “You succeeded just because of a whim. The winner in a game where there should be no winners. It would be in your best interest to never play a loaded game against fate. Ever again.”

The situation was so tense, that neither Akira nor Caroline found any words to say. They were both shocked and terribly stunned at the eerie omen.

“W-well, sister, I think that we all learnt some valuable lessons and no one is going to stick their head in a creepy crimson vortex never again.” Caroline awkwardly tried to laugh, but her fear was too noticeable.

Justine nodded and fixed her little cap. “I’m sorry if my words were a little too cryptic for you. Let me give you something else to think about.”

“S-sure.” Akira reluctantly agreed.

“You surely remember when I told you that the Jester Arcana was something of an anomaly, right? That under no circumstances the Fool and the Jester must collide, lest we desire for chaos to descend upon the world? Well, with your actions today, you just made it clear that you intend to pursue this bond without caring about the consequences.” The single braided twin waved her finger as if she were giving a lecture. “Seeing this, I’d say that fate will now allow you to continue down this path. But you must bear this in mind, this is not a declaration of defeat. Either you go all the way, and see this through, or you falter, and fate will see that you and that woman never see each other again. Was that clear?”

He slowly nodded, slightly shaken by the ominous words.

* * *

Akira took another sip from the carbonated drink in his right hand. It had been a rough day. First, the distressed call from Grace, the tense conversation between the two, the whole fight with the twins in mementos, the terrible experience of merging three minds (Headaches included) and now the bloodcurdling and soul chilling realization that the whole affair was nothing more than a suicide mission set up by destiny itself, just to see how far he would go for Grace. If that wasn’t a twisted sense of humor, then nothing else was.

The great joker, reduced to nothing more than a exhausted teenager sipping from a can of Dr.Salt alongside a vending machine, in a deserted street a few blocks away from his room. “ _ Another sermon from Morgana, a short phone call and then, it’s back to bed for me . _ ” He though, trying to give himself the last push for the day.

Sermon, call, and the bed. Sermon, call, bed. Sermon. Call. Bed. It was easy, so easy. A deserved rest, the end of the adventure in sight. But, a grudge is a grudge, and destiny never forgets a debt.

“Kurusu, right?”

Akira felt the dread slowly setting in. He had been so deep in his thoughts, that he never realized that the deserted street he had chosen for his little respite was not so deserted after all. “Who wants to know?” That was all he could muster in his deteriorated state.

“I’m afraid you’re not in the position to refuse some questions.”

He lifted his eyes from the can in his hand to the person asking the questions. It was a man, older, a bit taller than him, short, black hair, a little disheveled, but never as much as his unruly hair, and in his face, a cocky grin. Japanese, without a doubt. His accent was too perfect to be anything else. Even Grace had trouble with some words, but not him. He wore a two piece, dark blue tracksuit, sneakers included. An outfit that he clearly wore not only for the specific purpose of traveling inconspicuously, but also making him look less of a threat. Another face in the crowd. Another shadow under the light.

The thief quickly assessed his options: Going face to face against this unknown man would effectively be an instant and utter defeat. His body was demolished from his previous fight, his opponent was clearly on top shape, and, if he had to throw a wild guess, it was very probable that behind those loose clothes, an extremely capable fighter awaited the signal.

Akira took another swig from the can and sighed. “I’m afraid you got the wrong person. I’m just a student, and also on probation.” He clashed with the man’s gaze. “I don’t get into trouble. It’s usually the other way around.”

Escaping wasn’t an option either. His legs were already giving up. The whole trip on the subway was already a big achievement for him, so, a top speed chase was absolutely out of the question. Even if he had the advantage in Jongen-Jaya, the possibility of a second person was extremely probable. From every single point of view, nothing short of a miracle could save him now.

The man sighed, a little bit of his smile scaping with it. Slowly, he walked to the vending machine and eyed the selection with disinterest. “Look, I think we started this with the wrong foot.” He scratched his chin and finally selected a bottle of mineral water. “I don’t deal with normal people very much in my line of work. If anything, I’m always expecting the hostile approach. I kinda see where I could’ve gone wrong with my introduction.”

A bizarre day just had gotten even more bizarre. A grown up man had just shown up from nowhere, and now it was trying to start the conversation without the whole ‘implied threat’? The black haired teenager just nodded. Trying to argue with him would result in even more headaches than in Mementos.

“You can call me Echo.” This time it was the man’s turn to taste his drink.

The can creaked. It was instinctual. “A codename, huh?” The surprises just kept piling on top of others. “I don’t think I’ve done anything worthy of the attention of a secret agency.” Akira looked askance at the man.

Now, the stakes were at the highest point. If that man, just besides him was an agent for some agency who wanted to catch the Phantom Thieves, his life was in danger. On the other side, if he was a part of something concerning international efforts, then the whole gang was in danger. Worse of all, if by some unholy chance Kuh had been able to send his last orders before the change of heart, that could only mean that the death squad had just arrived for him.

He had been outplayed from every single angle. Every step and move outsmarted by an invisible and inexorable force.

“I came here, because of Grace Nam.” Echo spoke again. “Ever heard of her?”

“A very nice name. Sounds foreign.” He joked.

The older man let out a short laugh. “Yeah. She’s a good person. Courageous, kind, a little bit cocky though.” He sighed, drinking some more of the bottle. “But now… she’s in something of a rough spot. You know what I mean?”

Clearly, both men knew exactly who Grace was, and how bad her situation had become. “If I told you that I know this Grace person, what would you do with it?” The Thieves’ leader kept his bluff up.

“Convincing. Really convincing.” Echo arched a brow at the younger man’s defiance. “Let me tell you something, from one fellow countrymen to another. You think you are running a pretty nifty operation, sneaking under everyone’s noses, but the truth is, you are allowed to do so because up until now, you were playing in the kiddie sandbox. If you only knew what really lurks outside you wouldn’t be so..”

“Masaru!” The older man almost jumped in surprise by the sudden shout. “This is exactly why you should stick to drones instead of people.”

Akira blinked in confusion. Another person had just entered the quarrel out of the blue: A japanese woman, long black hair, a little shorter than him, dressed in pretty much the same sporting apparel than Echo, but above everything, she wore a dark blue hoodie. Her expression wasn’t that of making friends, but her fury wasn’t towards the young thief, but rather, the not so subtle man standing alongside him.

“Aw, come on!” Masaru threw his hands up in frustration. “What happened to the whole undercover thing? I’m Echo, you’re Hibana. It’s not so hard.”

The woman stepped towards the man and casually punched him in the chest, making Echo bend down in pain. “I hope he didn’t cause you any trouble.” She addressed the surprised teenager in a extremely friendly tone. A complete opposite than a few moments ago. “He can create whatever many things involve robotics and drones but when it comes to people, I swear, he’s like a brick wall. I’m Yumiko, by the way. Nice to meet you, Akira.”

“Y-yeah. Nice to meet you, Yumiko-san.” The teenager did a small bow as a courtesy. “And no, he didn’t cause any. He just asked some questions.”

“You see?” The alluded man coughed a few times. “It was just a friendly chat… nothing else.”

Yumiko rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I think you should have this.” She presented a small orange bag to Akira, filled with what seemed to be steaming pork buns. “For all the troubles.”

Slowly, the teenager lifted his hand and carefully received the bag from her. “I-It’s no big deal.” He answered, even though he had no clue whatsoever what he had done to deserve the food.

“How come he can get some buns and I get nothing?” Echo stood up, almost indignated by the kind gesture. “Is this the new MO of our missions? Because if it is, I’m not gonna volunteer again, you hear me?”

The woman frowned again. “He gets them because he did in a day what we couldn’t in months.” She stretched her hand towards Akira. “You are in the presence of the real deal, you know?”

“Y-you… you mean…” The older man suddenly found himself at a loss for words. “You received the confirmation and all that?”

Hibana nodded, visibly amused by the shocked expression on her companion’s face. “I received a call from the Nest a few minutes ago. It seems that the old bastard just pulled the plug from any and all operations currently ongoing.” She crossed her arms with a smug smile on her lips. “You just tried to intimidate a bona-fide Phantom Thief. The one that single-handedly was able to stop a Major General and save a valuable member of our team. Well, former member. Same thing.”

Masaru let out a little whistle. “No weapons, no hostages, no infiltrations or even drones. A clean job if I ever saw one.” He made a little reverence towards the young man. “I take back my words. You’re one hell of a thief.”

“Anyway. Just wanted to tell you we’re all on the same team.” The older woman scratched the back of her head. “We were all trying to help Grace, but it seems that you beat us to the punch. Way to go, team Japan.”

Akira wanted to laugh, to just smile and accept the compliments, but his mind was focused on something else. Something very important. “Wait… you said that Kuh just cancelled every attack and operation against Grace?” He asked, almost in disbelief. “Is she safe now?”

“Trust us.” The older man gave him a thumbs up. “Information is one of our fortes. We’ll have to check on the efficiency though.”

Hibana punched his companion on the arm, more as a joke than anything else, but it still seemed to hurt a lot. “Our contact confirmed the facts. Kuh just ordered a massive stop to everything and then he just went back to his home. It seems that old age is finally working its magic.” She nudged the teenager’s arm a little. “Besides, I don’t think they’re clever enough to track this incident back to you, or your organization. We can take ‘international conflict’ out of our checklists.”

The Thieves’ leader let out an audible sigh. Even if it was the most minuscule of chances, the whole operation had been a rotound success, suicide missions and all that included. “I’m glad. So glad.” Akira felt a relief he thought he had forgotten. “So, now we go back to our normal lives and all that?”

“That’s you.” The woman answered bluntly, but with a smile. “You and Grace can go back to those late meetings and those extremely awkward dates in Akihabara. We still need to fix some stuff and take care of the paperwork. Extremely tedious, let me tell you, but, you can say that this time it’s on the house. Ok? Take care.” Hibana turned around and started to walk towards the main street.

Echo shrugged. “Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Akira.” He shook his hand enthusiastically. “I’m sure a lot of people wanted to be here today and thank you in person, but I think you’ll have to settle with us two. Go home, eat some buns, take a shower and get some sleep, alright? You look like garbage.”

The young man laughed heartily this time. He really needed to get some rest, and quickly.

“Oh, and call Grace!” Masaru yelled back as he also walked away. “She must be worried sick about you! And don’t forget to tell her that the whole team sends its regards!”

Akira waved goodbye to the two people he had met just a few minutes ago. What began as a terrible end for his career ended up being the miracle he desperately needed. The prospect of Morgana’s sermon didn’t look so bad now.

Suddenly, his phone started vibrating. With dexterous hands, he pulled it from his pocket and looked at the screen. It had no number. Just a big ‘Unknown’ plastered on the caller ID.

Without thinking it twice, he answered. “Yes?”

“Mr Akira, good evening.” A calm voice on the other side of the line greeted him. “Congratulations on your successful mission. I’m sure you’ve already been informed about the current situation by two of our operatives, so I’ll spare you the details. Citing poor health as the main reason, Major General Kuh as retracted every single mission under his command and is now currently resting at his home in South Korea. As far as threats are concerned, I can safely assure you that it’s a matter of time before he starts confessing his terrible crimes to a war tribunal.”

The voice, he had heard it before, but where? Akira tried to remember , but the whole affair in Mementos had drained every single drop of energy from his body and mind. “That’s good to hear, mister…?”

“I’m afraid I cannot disclose to you my real name.” The voice answered back without changing its calm and confident tone. “But please, feel free to call Miss Nam and tell her about your exploits. I’m sure she’ll be delighted to hear from you once again. Also, could you do me a favor?”

“Usually I don’t do favors to strangers, but considering my recent meeting with Echo and Hibana, I’ll be glad to take that risk.”

“Thank you very much.” A small laugh could be heard through the line. “Please, tell ‘Dokkaebi’ that Vigil and the whole team wishes her the best,wherever she may go. Whatever she wishes to do.”

The rest was just the buzzing sound that signaled the end of the call.

Sighing for what could be the umphteenth time in the day, Akira located Grace inside his contacts and promptly pressed the number.

The call lingered for a few seconds before it was answered. “Hello… Akira?” The unmistakable voice of Grace greeted him from the other side of the speaker. “Is everything alright? Are you safe?”

“Yes, everything is alright. Don’t worry.” He chuckled, her voice was drenched with sleepiness. “I just wanted to give you a status update.”

“I’m all ears.” She replied.

“Well, the operation was a success. Kuh has abandoned all intentions of getting you prosecuted, and I believe he’ll soon be facing a whole new ordeal himself.”

“It’s over…” Grace sighed with relief. “It’s finally over…”

Now came the good part. “One last thing, Grace. I ran into some people here, somewhat quirky but very good hearted people. They told me to give you their regards and well wishes. The whole team, in fact. They were worried sick about you”

“Good hearted people eh?” The older woman resisted the urge to laugh. “I can only imagine how awkward it must have been for you… thanks. For everything.”

“Hey, I made a promise, didn’t I? Don’t sweat it. Although, I have a little extra for you. Are you interested?”

“We’re full of surprises today, aren’t we? And what would that little extra be?”

“Yeah, a man told me that Vigil sends his regards to Dokkaebi.”

A sudden silence fell onto the line.

“That son of a bitch.”


	14. Rank 9 Do or do not

“I dreamt about you.”

It took every ounce of willpower for Akira to not drop the massive pot they used for cooking curry in LeBlanc onto the kitchen sink. Slowly, he secured the pot and the scrubber on the sink, and after drying his hands on the apron, he approached the bar. Just as he had suspected, Grace had entered the café, unnoticed. Something that she was totally capable to do, after he had witnessed her skills in combat firsthand.

“I hope that it was a pleasant dream.” He quipped. “I’ve already caused enough nightmares.”

The older woman gave him a tender smile. “It was, thanks to you.” She walked a few steps towards the bar. “You tend to do that.”

“That’s a first.” The teenager looked at her. A strange mixture of happiness, sadness and just a little dash of embarrassment melded together in her face. “How’ve you been, Grace? No more troubles, I hope.”

She sighed, her smile still lingering on her lips. “These past days have been almost surreal. I went from being afraid every single day of my life, to suddenly feeling like I’m floating in some sort of reverie from which I don’t want to wake up.” Grace looked at the brave young man behind the bar, her eyes shining with longing. “Because, waking up would mean that you’ll no longer be there when I open my eyes. And I refuse to let that happen.”

Now it was time for the mighty Joker to be left speechless. He felt something strange bubbling up in his belly, and he was pretty sure that it wasn’t the curry he had for dinner. “That’s… really nice of you…”

“I got a call, you know?” The raven haired woman interrupted the thief’s ramblings, her words coming down like a downpour. “I was still hiding, even after you called me to assure that everything was alright. I was a fool, I’ll admit. It seemed too good, almost like a trap, ready to go off the moment I stepped out of my hideout. But it wasn’t.” She took another step forward. “My former companions, every single one of them called me, assured me that what I heard from you was the absolute truth. Even my former superiors and that asshole, Vigil, vowed for you. Praise after praise. Fact after fact. I even got a complete report from the Korean Army and I searched inside the database. Everything was clean. I was totally and absolutely free of my nightmare.”

Butterflies, there were butterflies in his stomach. If he only knew that Grace was feeling a whole other swirl of emotions altogether, maybe they would’ve shared the embarrassment of the moment.

Akira shrugged, a somewhat smug smile on his face. “Well, that’s how I work. Sometimes it just seems like a bad joke. Does that mean that Kuh…?”

Grace nodded, a small laugh escaped from her lips. “Yes. Most of my Korean associates told me that I had to be there to actually believe it. He just stormed the central office one day, shouting about how he had failed the entire army by being a disgrace to every single soldier and officer. That he was unfit to hold any position of power in the army, and that he just had to be put on trial for all of his sins.” Her expression changed for a single second to one of absolute disgust. “Turns out, I wasn’t the first, nor the last one. That bastard had a pretty nifty record of getting into personal vendettas against those he deemed to be too unsubordinated for his taste. Such overwhelming amounts of evidence left the court-martial with no other choice than to strip him of every single medal, title and honor he had ever received in his life. If my calculations are somewhat correct, I would dare to say that from now on, everything will be downhill for poor old Kuh.”

“Fitting. He wanted to make hell of other’s lives, now he’ll get to live in one.” The master thief crossed his arms, content with the news. “But, that’s not what you came to tell me, right?”

“You’re very perceptive. Maybe a little bit too much for your own good.” Her gaze lowered to the ground. “I received an offer from my old job. They want me to come back now that the whole affair with the army is over.”

This feeling, what was it? Had he felt something like this before? It felt like something was being torn apart from his chest. From his heart. “I see…” It hurt. Somehow, it hurt like he had never experienced before. It wasn’t a mind splitting pain like in Mementos, or the pain of an injury. It was deeper, tugging at the strings of his heart. “So, is this your goodbye?”

“You know...” She scratched her head, a troubled expression in her face. “If you’ve asked me that same question a few months ago, I would’ve answered with a rotound yes. A thousand times yes. But now…”

“Now…?” The question lingered in the air, giving the teenager a respite from the pain in his chest.

Grace sighed. “Now I don’t even know what I really want. Because up until now I had no reason whatsoever to remain in one place. I had no place to belong because there was nothing for me to stay. Colleagues, jobs, people, food, everything was expendable. Everything could be replaced.” A little blush appeared on her cheeks. “Until I met you. Now, I feel like I’m able to stay around in a single place. As long as you’re there. With me. There’s only one Akira Kurusu in this whole world. And he’s the reason why my mind and heart are making somersaults here and there.”

“Wait, Grace… does this mean that… you...?” The words tried to escape his lips, but the surprise was too great to process in that moment.

“Listen! I’m not very good with words. I prefer a computer a hundred times more than a book. So listen closely, because I’m only going to say this,  **once.** ” The older woman took a deep breath and steeled herself for the emotional onslaught she was about to incur onto herself and her companion. “Give me a reason to stay, Akira! In this instant I couldn’t care less about what job I do for the rest of my life! If you’re with me, then… then… I’ll stay.”

He wasn’t dreaming. It wasn’t a dream at all. Grace Nam, ex member of the South Korean army had just said something that sounded like a confession of love. “That’s… well. That’s amazing. I’m flattered.”

“Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.” Grace shrugged with a smug smile on her face. “You know what’s the worse part? Past-me would’ve killed me if she knew that I was flirting with a teenager. But then again, she has no idea whatsoever how it feels to spend a few weeks in hell. Neither has she experienced the feeling of someone caring so much about you that they’re ready to put their lives on the line just to see you smile.” She was almost whispering at the last part. “What does she know of love…”

_ “ _ _ Either you go all the way, and see this through, or you falter, and fate will see that you and that woman never see each other again. Was that clear?” _

Justine’s words echoed in Akira’s mind. Although their meaning had been cryptic at that moment, now they made perfect sense. It was the crossroads of destiny, a moment created by an uncanny amount of coincidences and things that should not be. A paradox in and out of itself.

“Are you sure about that?” The daring rogue asked her. “Are you sure that you’ll be able to just forget about your past? To stay here just for me?” He asked knowing well what it meant to doubt in a moment like that. A moment where the smallest mistake would sever the links between the two, separating them forever. But he needed to know. He needed to know he wasn’t sentencing her to a life of misery and self hatred. That her feelings were strong enough to last more than just a few weeks, or months. Or even years.

The older woman scratched her chin and, after a few seconds, she nodded. “Yeah. If I wasn’t prepared to do it, I wouldn’t have thought about coming here and telling you all of this.” A glimmer of sadness sparkled in her eyes. “Of course, if by some chance you don’t feel the same as I do, I’ll probably just accept it. Then I’ll go back home, swallow the terrible shame and guilt and then cry a little. Ok, a whole lot. But then? Then our lives would continue as normal.”

Akira laughed at the thought. “That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?”

“I’m a very driven woman. I play hard, I work harder.” Grace sheepishly smiled after realizing what she was just about to say. “And I’m ready to love even harder. So? What do you say? Is there a reason, for me to stay?”

Seeing her, a few meters away from the bar, Akira couldn’t help but remember the first time he encountered Grace. A terrible afternoon, where his phone just flat out died on him. She became his shining light in a terrible time, just as he had helped her get through the darkness in her life. So, what else could he do, except fall in love with that same woman, just as she had fallen in love with him?

“Are you really sure?” The devilish thief crossed his arms and arched a brow. “People tend to say that I’m a problem child, a delinquent, I’m on probation and adults tend to dismiss me. My grades are pretty good though. Anyway, is that the sort of man you would love?”

Grace slowly approached the bar. “A problem child, eh? I have some experience with that.” She let out a small laugh. “Besides, I’ll make sure you won’t get your neck stuck up in some terrible, terrible plan. Does that sound good to you?”

Akira slowly untied his apron, and folded it neatly over the bar. “You know, I’m sure there’s some people out there that think this should’ve been impossible, but… I tend to defy what’s impossible on a daily basis.” He walked to the other side of the bar, and, with a warm and tender smile on his face, he stood in front of his older companion. “So, if you let me, I would love to give you a reason to stay.”

“It’s not so hard to say: ‘I love you’. You know?” Both were very close, her eyes lingering between his chest and his dark grey eyes. “C’mon, can’t you be a little more romantic?”

Daring as always, the Thieves’ Leader took her hands into his, and, closing the space between his face and hers, he softly whispered. “I love you, Grace Nam. Please, stay with me, so we can be together for as long as we humanly can.”

“Yes. of course.” She slowly put her arms around his waist. “But please, in this moment, when it’s only you and me, call me Eun Hye.”

“Eun Hye… Eun Hye…” Akira repeated the name over and over, trying to grasp its pronunciation. “Is this your real name? Grace was only an alias?” He caressed her head with tenderness.

The older woman chuckled a little bit, her body gradually relaxing thanks to the gentle embrace. “Not really… Grace is just the literal translation of my name. My parents named me that because of a famous actress back then.” She lifted her head a little bit, their eyes lovingly staring at each other. “Do you think that now… we could…”

He didn’t answer. Carefully he cupped her face with his hands, and slowly proceeded to shorten the distance between the two. She could feel his steady breathing, his kind eyes, the gentle touch on her skin.

It was a perfect moment. The perfect beginning for their story.

Until their glasses crashed together with a loud noise.

“Son of a..!” Grace separated herself from her young lover and angrily took her glasses off. “Now? Really? I’m just… gonna leave these here now and…” She left them over the bar, away from her face and her private moment of happiness.

Akira scratched his chin for a moment. “You don’t need those to see?”

“Remember when I told you that I changed my image so people would underestimate me? Well, the glasses are also part of that. If anything, they’re more of a fashion accessory than a real piece of headgear.” She also took her beanie, leaving it just besides the glasses. “Now, where were we?”

The teenager started laughing out loud. Small tears formed on the corners of his eyes. “Oh, this is rich.”

“What? You can’t believe someone would use fake glasses to throw people off?” The older woman asked, equally amused by the laughter of her companion.

“No, no, it’s just that.” Akira shuffled his hair and slowly took off his glasses. “I don’t need them either. They’re fake as well.” He left them just besides Grace’s.

It took Grace a few seconds to process the whole situation. But when she did, in her heart a stronger fire blazed. “You don’t know how much I love you right now.”


	15. Rank 10 The starry night we built

A good night was a night where Grace Nam was able to see the lovely figure of her boyfriend standing just behind the bar of a certain café located within a small corner of Jongen-Jaya. Phone calls and text messages were good and all that, but nothing could ever compare to having the real deal just next to her, in hugging range.

“Saddle up, loverboy! Tonight we feast!” She opened Leblanc’s door, smiling at her young lover. “I hope you skipped dinner like I told you earlier.” The raven haired woman lifted a couple of bags she carried in her hands

“Ah, Eun Hye. Let me help you with that.” It still gave her goosebumps to hear him calling her Korean name with his soothing voice.

Grace shook her head. “Nuh-uh, mister. I’ll get the things unpacked, you make sure to bring some plates and cutlery.” She walked with her usual confident stride towards the booths at the side of the café.

“Sure. What are we having?” Akira asked while checking for the appropriate sized plates.

The older woman hummed a cheerful tune as she placed the bags onto a table. “A little bit of everything.” 

“Everything?” The teenager put back the small plates he had taken from the bar.

“Yeah. You never told me your favourite dish, so I just went with my guts and ordered a couple of things. To be safe.” She started to unpack container after container of what could only be assumed to be an assorted seleccion of traditional Japanese dishes and fast food items. “I bought chicken and beef skewers, some yakisoba, tonkatsu, katsudon and oyakodon, one bowl each, one okonomiyaki and a few pieces of bite sized fried chicken.”

He just stood there for a few seconds, totally stunned by the amount of food his girlfriend had carried from who knows where like it weighted absolutely nothing. “Well, this is a good enough reason to get out the big dishes.”

Grace neatly arranged the food on the table. “I was going to bring the drinks too, but I thought that you could spoil me a little on that.” She winked.

Akira slowly carried the dishes over to the table. “Anything for you, Eun Hye.” He carefully set up the table, and, after everything was ready, he gave Grace a quick kiss on the lips. “So what are we celebrating?”

“Wouldn’t you want to know.” She giggled, still basking on the afterglow of their kiss. “How about we start to eat before we ask the big questions?”

He nodded. “Great idea.”

Under the cafe lights, both sat on the same side of the booth, their bodies a little bit closer than normal. Akira sat closest to the bar, in case they needed something extra while Grace was in charge of serving everything into manageable portions. They had a whole feast to finish, after all.

“So, how’s school?” The raven haired woman asked her companion, handing him a plate of food.

The teenager arched a brow. “Oh, nothing special. Just school things. Tests, boring classes. The usual.” He took a bite of his plate. “How’s work?”

His girlfriend faked a surprise look. “I’m glad you asked! Well, as you know, I’m probably going to stay in Japan for the foreseeable future. So, I just thought that it would be nice to have a steady job to keep up with my living expenses.” She smiled at him, her hand slowly caressing his. “I accepted a full time position at the University. I’ll start as an official researcher next week.”

“That’s amazing! But then again, you’re always amazing.” Akira kissed her forehead, returning her caress. “There’s just no stopping you.”

“Really now?” Grace had her usual smug smile on her face. “Then, I suppose that the fact that I’ll also be studying to get a Ph.D is not that surprising to you. Well then… let me think something that will really amaze you.” She slowly approached his face, her eyes locked onto his like a predator. “What if I told you, that to save face from Kuh’s little stunt, the South Korean army has granted me something akin to an early retirement pension? Or maybe… the fact that my apartment was completely repaired, as a farewell gift from my old teammates?”

Bombshell after bombshell fell onto the poor teenger. Just as her life had been tumbling down non-stop in her darkest hour, now it was skyrocketing upwards, with no sign of stopping. “Now I see why we had to celebrate with so much food.” He let out a small laugh. “The world is not such a bad place after all. Don’t you think?”

Now it was her turn to give him a tender kiss. “That’s good and all, but… If I had to choose only one reason to celebrate, it would be the fact that we’re together now, enjoying a quiet moment.” Grace slowly rested her head on his shoulder. “You saved me from Kuh. You gave me back my life. Without you, I wouldn’t be here today. So, thank you. With all of my heart.”

“I learnt from the best.” The Thieves’ Leader had a tender smile on his lips. He was really enjoying the warmth of his lover, close to him, but there were more pressing matters at the moment. “How about we continue eating, before everything gets cold?”

“Oh, you’re right!” The older woman untangled herself from her comfortable spot and resumed the task of finishing the grand feast on the table. “You know? Sometimes I find it a little bit unfair.”

“Unfair? What’s unfair?” 

Grace took a meat skewer and bit a piece of it. “It’s just that… I’m in so much bliss right now. My life’s back on track, I have a stable job, my lovely boyfriend spoils me rotten.” A long sigh escaped her lips. “I just fear that maybe I’m taking too much of your time… away from your comrades, the Phantom Thieves.”

Akira felt for a single moment that he was just about to die of asphyxiation thanks to the food in his throat. “The… The Phantom Thieves?” He asked in between his coughing fit. “W-what do you mean?”

“Really? Really Akira?” Grace arched a brow at her lover. “Who do you think I am? You know me better than anyone else in the world, and you have the nerve to ask me what I mean?”

The black haired teen didn’t answer immediately. He took the time to get up from the booth, travel to the kitchen, take a big glass of water and come back to the table, unfazed. “Yes, of course I’m asking what do you mean.”

“Alright. I’ll play your game.” The older woman was extremely amused at his meager attempt of keeping his cool at the face of certain defeat. “Let’s say that I’m not really sure you’re a member of the Phantom Thieves. Then, it would be a case of just connecting the dots. You were the only person in Japan to even know about Kuh. You were the one who promised me that my troubles would be solved, and, what do you know? My whole world of troubles suddenly vanished, just after a certain teenager rushed out of my apartment to do who knows what in who knows where!” She shrugged with a smug smile on her face. “I don’t know about you, but, these are not what you could call: situational evidence.”

A clean, nice and massive checkmate was presented to the almighty Joker. He tried to play the cunning game against a hacker, an ex special operative from the South Korean army and, worst of all, his girlfriend. And he had lost. Spectacularly. “Well. I tried to keep my secrets, but I’m no match for you, Eun Hye.” He shuffled his hair. “What are you going to do now? My whole life is in your hands.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, my love.” Grace handed him another skewer. “If anything, the Phantom Thieves are the most efficient organization I’ve ever met in my life. One hundred percent success rate? No losses or collateral damage? That’s a clear winner in my book. Besides…” Her smile was full of tenderness. “I don’t think you would’ve joined just any organization. If you’re in there, it means that they resonate with your own ideals and values. They’re just, brave, and if I had to guess, maybe a little bit reckless. So, I’ll keep the secret. That’s my promise to you.”

The faces of his companions sparked in his mind. Just as the older woman had described them, the members of the Phantom Thieves were a ragtag of misfits and punks, but they were misfits and punks with a plain and simple goal: To punish those rotten adults that abuse their power to twist the world to their own, greedy needs. If there was a job that needed to be done, then it was a job for them. Be it a palace, or Mementos.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you.” He chewed a bit of the meat in the skewer.

“And I’m not even finished!” His lover exclaimed, fixing her glasses a little. “It wouldn’t be fair if I only served as emotional support, isn’t it? So, I’m pulling out all the stops for you. From now on, when your network of contacts and associates runs dry in search for a little help, I’ll use mine to give you a hand. And, if you need me to, I’ll break into a database or two. Who knows… maybe you’ll need me in the future to get out of a tough spot.”

“Then, it’s decided.” Akira offered his hand to her. “Together.”

“Together” She answered, as their hands clasped.

**I am thou, thou art I…**

**Thou hast turned a vow into a blood oath.**

**Thy bond shall become the wings of rebellion**

**And break the yoke of thy heart.**

**Thou hast awakened to the ultimate secret**

**Of The Jester, granting thee infinite power…**

Grace took off her glasses, and beanie. “You know… one of the perks of being an adult, is the fact that there are no parents or guardians that can bother you with a curfew.” She rested her head once more on his shoulder. “And, I don’t think there’s anyone waiting for me in my apartment, so… after our dinner… could I stay a little bit longer tonight?”

He kissed her head, taking in the scent of her hair. “Of course. As long as you want.”

“After all, you still owe me a coffee.”


	16. Date: A little piece of heaven

“Ahhhh, that was fun!” Grace exclaimed with a joyful smile. “I don’t remember when was the last time I came to an amusement park. At least, one that’s not old, abandoned, and extremely creepy.”

Destinyland Tokyo was known for a few things. It was a nice spot for vacations, even more if you had kids in the family. It offered a nice selection of rides and attractions based on very popular franchises. And the most important for the leader of the Phantom Thieves: It provided a great opportunity for a date when one of the two was legally a minor.

“I’m glad you liked my idea, even if you were a little bit skeptical at first.” Akira eyed the map in his hands once more, searching for the quickest route to the next attraction. “And we’ve barely been on half of the rides we wanted.”

The older woman arched a brow at her lover. “You keep saying that, but your voice wasn’t very confident when you tried to convince me.” She latched onto his arm, breaking a little of his concentration. “But I’ll admit that this little trip works wonders for my mind.”

An ease of mind that didn’t only translated as a more lax attitude. Grace’s wardrobe seemed to actually agree with her in that front. From her usual jackets, long shirts, massive bag and opaque colors, she now donned a short t-shirt with white and purple stripes, blue yoga pants, white sneakers, and to carry her belongings, a small canvas bag. Also, gone was her usual beanie, and over her eyes, a slightly smaller glasses with a light brown tint adorned her face

Yes, this Grace Nam was nothing like the other, the one who lived in the shadows until some time ago. And she liked it best that way.

After finding what he was searching for on the map, the teenager folded it once more and stored it in his bag (that for now lacked the usual presence of Morgana). “If we keep going down the cobblestone road, we’ll reach our next destination.” He tenderly took her hand. “C’mon, let’s go.”

She kissed his cheek. “Ok. Take me to our next adventure.”

It was a dream come true. Here she was, holding hands with the love of her life, enjoying a day off on an amusement park like a little girl. If she had come by herself, this would’ve been the most boring place in the whole world. But, as some may say, all that matters is with who you are, rather than where you are.

As they walked, hand in hand, Akira eyed the distance. The whole park stretched towards the horizon in an neverending expanse composed of dreams and colors. Hundreds of children ran amok in their streets while their parents struggled to keep up with their energy. A fleeting memory of his childhood flashed in his mind. He had never been the type to actually tire his parents to the bone. But then again, what did he do with his parents that was worth remembering? 

Suddenly, the young man stopped in his tracks, surprising his girlfriend.

“What’s the matter?” A small hint of worry shone in her eyes. “Is there something wrong?”

Her lover didn’t answer at first. His eyes were glued to a point in the distance. “It’s just that…” His last sentence lingered in the air.

Grace followed his gaze until her eyes landed on the same spot. A couple of blocks ahead, a magnificent square stood just in the middle of the road. It was a veritable feast of decorations, flowers, lights and the gem of the crown was the wonderful fountain in the middle, spouting water in beautiful patterns.

However, Grace understood that her boyfriend wasn’t really interested in the architecture of the place. Instead, she was pretty sure that the younger man was busier checking out the myriad of different characters wandering around the square itself. Dozens of characters, from every franchise owned by Destinyland were represented and personified by the staff of the park. But even amongst the sea of colorful characters, the ones that stole the show, and most of the children’s attention, were the princesses, every single one of them donning a dress that shone like the stars in the night sky.

“Sooooo…” The older woman smiled with malice. “Don’t tell me that you’ve fallen for some princess, eh? You’ve got a lot of nerve to be eyeing another woman in front of your girlfriend.”

Her arms coiled around his body like two venomous snakes, searching for the perfect position in which to strike with their fangs. However, the gallant thief was unfazed by the attack, and instead, he resorted to just dance around her grip, eventually ending with the two of them in a loving embrace.

“You hurt me, Eun Hye.” He whispered in her ear, giving her a few goosebumps. “Why would I look at the stars, when the moon is shining right in front of me, in all of its glory?” Akira ended his attack with a quick kiss on her lips.

Grace wanted to laugh at the comment. She wanted oh so badly, but instead, her cheeks betrayed her in the worst form possible. “I can’t believe you! You dumbass, idiot, jerk!” She buried her blushing head in his chest. “You did it on purpose! I’m going to get my revenge, just you see!”

The younger man chuckled a little. Maybe she was right, and his display of affection was a little too public for their comfort, but it felt right, somehow. If another woman had been his girlfriend, then maybe he would’ve thought of keeping a low profile, leaving those small gestures behind closed doors. But Grace and him had lived their whole lives in the shadows. A little light shining here and there wasn’t going to kill them. At least not instantly.

“Well, glad to see that I can still outsmart you.” The raven haired teen gently caressed her head. “But I wasn’t really looking at the princesses, if that really bothers you.”

Grace lifted her head from his chest, and looked at him with a menacing smile. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m very,  **very** sure that you wouldn’t  **dare** to do something as low as that, but…” Her voice had a small tint of concern. “I still want to know if there’s something on your mind.”

Akira smiled. With care, he dissolved the embrace, but their hands remained together, just as they had been a few minutes before. “I was just thinking… about happy endings.”

“Happy endings, huh?” The older woman slowly caressed his hand, as if she was trying to calm down an unknown worry in his heart. “Are you worried about… us?” Maybe the only worry was inside her own heart.

“What? No, no no no. Of course not.” Now it was his turn to feel terrible. His girlfriend had a weary heart, and he knew it better than anyone. “Maybe that sounded bad, but, what I wanted to say was… Is there such a thing as a happy ending, like the ones in the stories we used to read in our childhood?”

“Like the stories?” She asked.

Akira nodded. “Yeah. Every princess has a prince. Every bad deed gets punished. The day is won, and the kingdom is saved.” A small, almost unnoticeable sigh escaped his lips once he saw the smile returning to Grace’s face. “Do you think we’ll have an ending like that? All sappy and sweet?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Her answer came quick as lightning.

“See, I knew that those were just…” 

“I’m sure that we won’t get a normal ending either.” The older woman interrupted his speech with the same speed as her previous answer.

The tides had turned in a single instant. Now it was Akira who felt worried all of the sudden. “You don’t pull any punches, don’t you?”

Her gaze was fixed on his eyes. “I’m being honest. It’s going to get pretty terrible if you think about it.” Slowly, her hand slipped away from his gentle embrace. “I mean, look at us. We’re not an ordinary couple, not by a longshot.” She saw the face of her boyfriend turn somber at her comment, but before it could progress any further, she smiled as usual. “After all, it’s going to be a bloodbath the day I get to meet your parents.”

“M-my parents?” For a moment, Akira forgot everything about anything. The last phrase was so utterly surprising, that his whole mind went blank.

Grace giggled a little, and nodded. “Yeah, imagine that. The exact moment when you tell them that your girlfriend is at least ten years older than you. I can almost hear the sudden heart attack.”

The teenager didn’t answer back. He was frozen in place, half of his mind still processing the full weight of her words, and the other half struggling to imagine the unfolding scenario. “My parents, right. Them, father and mother. Wow, that’s… that’s a really big deal..” He took a deep breath, breaking out of his dumbfoundedness . “So, anyway. How about yours?”

“That’s a little more complicated.” She scratched her chin a few times. “With them, I’d say that is more of a gamble than anything else. But, you don’t have to worry about it. I’m enough of an adult to have the power to just ignore their rants and objections.” Grace crossed her arms with a satisfied expression on her face.

Akira shuffled his hair a little. “You’ve certainly thought a lot about the future, haven’t you?”

The raven haired woman walked towards the rail that was just behind her boyfriend. “I’m more surprised that you’re the one that’s not thinking about it.” She eyed a lake in the distance, filled with little boats and more decorations surrounding an artificial island with a castle model on it. “I realized, that when you’re a couple, the only endings that exist for you, are bad ones.”

“How so?” He asked.

“You see, when you’re in a relationship with someone, the only real ending there is, it’s a breakup. As long as we stay together, there will never be an end.” She played with one of her twintails. “What I want, is for our relationship to last until the very end. I want to cultivate this love, this terrible, terrible emotion that makes me do stupid things, and think even more stupid thoughts.” In her eyes a powerful fire raged, shining pure and simple. “That’s why I don’t believe in endings. That’s why I don’t  **need** nor want an ending. Because I have you.”

Akira stood next to her, their arms touching on the railing. “I’m happy to hear that. You make me happy.” He gave her a kiss that Grace returned profusely. “You’re going to love me even when I only bring uncertainty to your life? Even through rocky futures and terrible parents?”

Grace looked at him with enough tenderness to melt his heart. “I’ll love you even then, because… the more I love you, the more insecure I get. And the more insecure I get the surer I become that I’m in love.” She laughed a little as a faint blush appeared on her face. “Besides, our parents won’t even be the worst thing. I mean, we haven’t even started living together yet!”

“T-together?” The daring rogue got startled by the sudden announcement. “Don’t you think there’s still a little more time until that?”

Grace softly nudged him. “Well, you better start thinking about it, mister. I told you that I was going all out with you, and I don’t intend to stop anytime soon.” She sighed. “Most people say that living together is the real deal breaker in a relationship. Dates are nothing compared to the prospect of waking up every single day of your future life with the same person at your side.”

“I wouldn’t mind.” He answered.

“Tell me that after you’ve woken up with me for a couple of years.”

“Then, I’ll say: ‘I don’t mind waking up with you at my side every day of my life.’ Does that sound better?”

“Much.” She grabbed his hand. “Now, let’s get going.”

The couple quickly resumed their march, and soon left behind the square with all of its inhabitants. They went on their merry way, traversing through the crowd, the children running amok, and the hundreds of performers and costume wearing employees on the streets.

“But…” Her voice came as a whisper this time. “I don’t expect it to be all roses and sweets. In fact, I would be terrified if every day was perfect. Things don’t work that way.” Akira didn’t answer, instead, he tightened his grip on her hand, a way of supporting her without recurring to words. “We’ll have our fights. Sometimes because of stupid things like something lying around, or a little mistake here and there. But sometimes, it will be worse. Maybe we’ll shout, cry, throw some tantrums, ask for a little space. So… I want to ask you. If I ever use your age, or mine as leverage, please, forgive me.”

The teenager looked at his girlfriend. Her eyes were glued to the floor, too afraid to look at him directly. “We’ll worry about that when we get there.” Akira reassured her with his kind voice. “Besides, that’s the important part in a relationship, isn’t it? Being able to solve our problems without hurting each other. We’ll experience every aspect of our love, good or bad. Besides, if we work together, I think that our fights will last much less than you can imagine.”

Grace smiled, her heart was at peace once more. “Yes that’s correct. We’ll have each other, right? Through thick and thin.”

“For as long as you want, Eun Hye.”

“No crying at our wedding, alright?”

“I think I’m having a heart attack.”


	17. Date 2: Undercover

Akira climbed the stairs of LeBlanc with extreme care. Holding a cup of coffee in each hand, the mighty rogue used every single fiber of his being to remain calm and focused, the two things he needed to keep a steady step on a treacherous terrain. One misstep, and not only he would feel the hot coffee on his skin, but it would also ruin the impromptu visit of his girlfriend. Sadly, the teenager didn’t know which one would be worse.

Once the last step was finally behind him, the raven haired teenager let out a sigh of relief. “One order of coffee, ready to…” He stopped mid sentence after noticing his girlfriend snooping around in his room without even caring for his presence. “Please, at least do it when I’m not here.” He carefully placed the two cups on the large table at the side of the room.

“And miss the opportunity of seeing the incredible lair of a Phantom Thief firsthand? Hah, fat chance!” Grace smiled at him. “Or is there something that you don’t want me to see, hmm?” She arched a brow.

The younger man placed a hand on his chin. “Let’s see… dirty clothes? No. Tests with terrible scores? No. Pajamas? Those are clean and folded.” He shrugged. “I can’t think of anything. But, if you find something interesting, please let me know.”

“I’ll take your word. Don’t regret it later, eh?” She gently took a cup from the table and quickly sat down on the sofa on the other side of the room. “Now, this is just what I needed.”

Akira took the other cup and gently sat beside the raven haired woman. “A good cup of coffee can make the difference between a crappy day and a less crappy one.” He took a sip.

Grace snuggled her head against his shoulder. “Coffee is just one part of the equation. You’re the other.” She tasted the pitch black brew inside her cup, savoring every delicate note on her mouth. “Absolutely delicious. As always.”

“Whenever you want, Eun Hye.” He kissed her head. “So, what’s the final verdict?”

“You want the truth or something less terrible for ease of mind?” She asked, amused by the prospect of shooting another witty remark at her boyfriend.

“Now I don’t want anything, thank you very much.”

The older woman laughed heartily. “I’ll keep the whole rant to myself, if you tell me something.” She waited until the younger man looked at her with attention. “That desk over there, in the corner… have you used it yet?”

Akira eyed the working desk sitting on the corner. He had used it all right, that desk was nothing more than the holy ground where every single tool and master key in his arsenal had been born. But of course, saying that was out of the question. “I use it when something breaks up here.” A curve ball should keep her off the track. “Other than that, it keeps my things in order when I don’t have enough space.”

“You don’t study there?” She continued the pressure.

He shook his head. “No, I study downstairs. On the bar when there’s clients; on a booth when there’s no one else.”

“So, the notebook on the desk must be just my imagination, right?”

And just like that, his castle was no more. A pained smile appeared on his face, as he took another sip of coffee. “It is what it is.”

“Well mister deep thoughts, I remember you telling me very clearly to just go and see whatever picked my curiosity, isn't it?” Grace had won, and both knew it well.

“Go ahead.” He surrendered.

The raven haired woman finished what was left on her cup and gleefully skipped over to the working desk. “Huh… not bad.” Her expert eyes dissected the computer in seconds. “Second hand, but the damage is negligible. I think you worked a little bit on this too. There are indications of tampering, along with some marks here and there. I can safely assume that the computer wasn’t working at first. Not until you got in there.” Her boyfriend nodded, somewhat proud of her recognition. “Kudos to you and all that, but if you wanted something cheap and a little better than this, you could’ve just told me, you know?”

“I need to test my skills once in a while, don’t you think?” Akira left the cups on the table. “A rusty thief is a liability on the field.”

“One step at a time, wonder boy.” She sat on the chair in front of the desk, legs crossed. “Mind if I take it for a spin?”

The teenager nodded. Even without his consent, her inner hacker would’ve kicked in full, giving him no other option than to give her a free pass.

That was the signal. Quick as lightning, Grace extracted from her bag another laptop, some cables, and a bag full of electronic components. With unmatched skill, she examined every port, nook and cranny of his notebook. Her face went from a deep thinking expression, to a quick flash of inspiration, and back again to the deep thinking with some giggles in between.

She was a fish in the water. No, she wasn’t a fish. She was a shark, one that had just found a prey ready for the taking.

Akira smiled. He had seen his girlfriend work only once in his life, and that was when she worked her magic to fix his dead phone. Her craft was still something mysterious and almost surreal to him, so, that little moment was something equally precious. “Need anything?” He asked.

The older woman turned her head towards him without even stopping her hands from typing on her computer. “Well, if you insist… you can refill my cup.” She smiled with tenderness. “And then you can come and keep me some company. You’ll find that I’m a pretty decent teacher.”

“Gotcha.” He kissed her head.

It took a couple of minutes for the thief to go to the kitchen and then back with the pot, but after his girlfriend’s cup was full once more, the real lesson began.

Grace took apart the computer like it was absolutely nothing. In her hands, the screwdrivers, cables, screws and pieces flew. “This is a pretty good job. You did this with a basic repair kit eh?” She tinkered with the motherboard. “There’s still some wiring that I can do here and there. The rest is perfectly fine as it is. Now, be a good boyfriend and be my second pair of hands.”

The order had been given, and the raven haired youngster was all too eager to please.

The hacker’s skills combined with the inherent dexterity of the master thief proved to be extremely effective against the intricate business that was the high end customization of portable pc’s.

In a couple of hours, Grace had taken apart and put back together the laptop more times than Akira could count. For every single pair of modifications, she had to assemble the whole thing and test it out. Each and every move was thoroughly explained by the older woman to her young apprentice. The thief took mental notes about what could be used for his gadgets, and secretly thanked her for the indirect help she was providing to the Phantom Thieves.

When the time came for her to program the OS and other functions, Akira considered it appropriate to just fall back into the support role. Whilst she tipped furiously on two machines at the same time he kept her well fed and hydrated throughout the whole process.

“Just you wait, when I’m over, you’ll know why I’m the best in the business.” She chugged her 4th cup of coffee. Her hands were still working at neck breaking speed.

The black haired thief just laughed. She was having fun. He was having fun. Even when this wasn’t what he had planned for the day, it was just as good as cuddling or making small talk. “Don’t break a finger, Eun Hye.” He cleaned the desk the best he could without disturbing the work in process. “Besides, I already know that you’re the best, remember?”

She smiled. The feeling was mutual.

* * *

“You sure you got everything?” Akira asked from the other side of the bar.

Grace fixed her beanie a little. “I’m sure. And if I forget something by some chance, you can hold it for me.” She winked.

The younger man chuckled. “Alright then, let’s go to the…”

“AKIRA!” A loud voice interrupted the whole scene. “CAN YOU GET ME SOME CURRY?” The door opened up with a bang as Futaba Sakura entered the café with a happy stride.

Neither Akira nor his girlfriend answered. They were frozen stiff.

For Futaba, Akira was standing in his usual position behind the bar, as he usually was when he was alone at the cafe, but the other person inside… it was someone she had never seen in her entire life.

Which could also be said for Grace. All she could see, was a little girl, with long orange hair, a big pair of glasses, with black boots, a green coat, denim shorts and big headphones on her head. A little girl that had just called her boyfriend by his name. A clear sign that they were more than mere acquaintances. 

“Am I… interrupting something?” Futaba asked, eyeing the two with visible discomfort on her face.

The master thief was quick to break free from his shocked state. “N-no, of course not, Futaba.” Akira gave his girlfriend a look that begged for her cooperation. Or at least, he hoped that she could understand what he was trying to say. “I was just… talking with this person here. She came to have some of LeBlanc’s curry and coffee, but I’m afraid she came a little too late. That’s all.”

“Huh…” The little hacker squinted her eyes with suspicion at his words. “Is that soooooo…” She took a few steps towards the raven haired woman in the room.

Grace felt the immense pressure coming from the gaze of the petite girl. It was pretty obvious that she was not buying any of his lies. But she had to do something, anything. If the truth came out, then, it would only be the beginning of a never ending hell.

“죄송 해요!” Grace spouted in korean. Futaba gasped, extremely surprised by the sudden outburst. “질문하는 것을 그만두고 떠나십시오!” She did a curtsy bow towards her boyfriend and the orange-haired girl a few times.

“What the…?!”

“She doesn’t speak japanese.” Akira answered the question before it could leave Futaba’s lips. “I’ve been here for a few minutes trying to tell her to just come back tomorrow.”

The tiny hacker was speechless. “Well… I-I didn’t want to sound like a prick or anything, you know…” She scratched the back of her head, extremely flustered for what she had done. “Is there some way to tell her that I’m sorry?”

Grace wanted to laugh at the whole situation, but she suppressed the urge, to keep her boyfriend’s lie intact. Poor Futaba, little did she know that the seemingly clueless foreigner was able to understand every single word she had uttered since she had entered the café. “ _ A little payback for ruining the moment _ ” The older woman thought.

“She seems to understand english.” The master thief stepped out of the bar and slowly walked over to the orange-haired girl. “That’s what I discovered before you made your grand entrance.”

“Uh, oh… alright… just, let me prepare myself.” The petite girl slapped her cheeks to give herself some courage. “I’M SORRY!” She put her hands together in a pleading gesture. “I’M NOT A BAD GIRL, PLEASE FORGIVE ME!” Futaba spouted an apology in a somewhat shaky english.

The older woman looked at her younger companion with a smug grin on her lips. Akira didn’t answer, but his eyes asked her to please continue with the show so everything could end quickly. “It’s alright, don’t worry.” Grace answered in an almost perfect english. “I’ll come back another day.” She gave the little girl a thumbs up and an innocent smile.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! I’m so glad!” The tiny hacker sighed with relief. “I thought I was going to die for a second.”

The daring rogue patted her head a few times. “There, there. You apologized, and our guest accepted it. There’s no harm done.” Akira did his best to ignore the blistering gaze coming from his girlfriend. “Tell you what, you just go back to your house, and, after I finish with the customer, I’ll fix you some curry and coffee. Ok?”

Futaba’s eyes sparkled with joy at the promise of freshly made curry and coffee. “For reals? You’re the best, Akira!” She gave the teenager a quick hug and then waved goodbye to the older woman. “Bye-bye, miss! Sorry for everything!”

“안녕.” The raven-haired woman waved back.

After the bells chimed one more time, the atmosphere at the cafe went back to an almost gelid silence. Akira looked at his girlfriend, and she looked at him. For a second their eyes spoke a language that only those who trusted each other with their lives could understand.

And then, they laughed. Merrily, heartily.

“That was amazing. Truly amazing.” The teenager dried a few tears on the corner of his eyes. “You just went all out on that one, didn’t you?”

Grace shrugged. “Oh, you know me. I always want to leave a good impression.” She stood besides her younger companion. “Anyways. Who was that girl? She seemed close. Reeeeeeeeeeal close…”

It was one of  **those** questions. “She’s the daughter of my guardian.” His answer came fast. Like an extinguisher trying to put out a fire before it could become an inferno. “If anything, she’s like a little sister to me. A little spoiled, but a good girl.”

“As expected of my lovely boyfriend! Always caring for others!” Any hint of malice or resentment was suddenly gone from her voice.

Akira wasn’t really convinced. “I’m pretty sure you were about to strangle me.”

“Must be your imagination.” She latched onto his arm. “Now be a darling and walk me to the station.”

“I’m starting to think that I spoil you too much, Eun Hye.”

“As long as I’m the one you spoil the most, then, I couldn’t care less.”

“What am I gonna do with you?”

“Love me, of course. As I love you.”

“That’s really unfair.”

“Love is unfair.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to any Korean speaker who reads the abominations I translated with Google translate. I lack anyone with Korean knowledge so I had to use the ol' reliable.


	18. The sum of all fears

_ “Huh? What about the camera?” The man grabbed the teenager by the hair, a cocky smile on his face. “Are you thinking it can be used as video evidence?” _

_ The raven haired teen didn’t answer. His gaze was fixed onto the camera’s lens. _

_ “You still haven’t figured it out? There are no laws here that will protect criminals like you.” The man let go of his hair with violence. He immediately stood up and kicked the younger man in the guts with prejudice. _

_ The camera kept its silence, the ever watching witness of a thousand crimes. _

_ Cameras do not feel. But the person behind them, sure does. _

* * *

Grace let out a long and lazy yawn as she stretched her arms. Afternoons at the Tokodai were something that she dreaded more than anything in the world. Not only the atmosphere at the working station was absolutely terrifying, but also she had been working non-stop since the morning, and now, the weight of all those terrible hours was starting to finally sink into her tired limbs.

“Yo, Grace.” A small and round woman with brunette hair greeted her from the desk just besides hers. “Is your part ready?”

At least, by some miraculous chance, she wasn’t all alone in that room. Another intern accepted to do some extra work alongside her on that cursed evening. Something that she was grateful for, but didn’t know how much. Maybe it was better to just take the company than face the glowing monitor alone.

The raven-haired woman rubbed one of her eyes. “Yeah. I just have to double-check the code and then we can run it with the rest.” A long sigh escaped her lips. “I think this is going to kill me before we can even finish it.”

“We can always take a break.”

“Procrastination eh? I’d like that very much, Momoko.”

Momoko Tachibana laughed. “Everything sounds terrible if you put if like that. Let’s just say that we’re working on a different angle.”

Grace stood up from her chair with a short hop. “Whatever makes you sleep at night, Momo.” She checked the time on her phone. “Let’s get something to eat before I faint.”

“Geez, a little bit more and I’d say that you actually hate working here.” The shorter woman giggled, getting up from her chair.

The cunning hacker checked the room again. The absence of any other form of life apart from them became even more apparent. A shiver ran down her spine. She had to get out of there and quickly. “Come on, let’s go.”

The older woman stepped out of the room with quick pace, while the short woman tried her best to match her speed.

“Anything to get out of work, eh?” Momoko panted. “Are you sure you don’t have anything more important to do right now?”

“Perhaps.” Was the only answer she muttered.

The truth was, until that moment, she had nothing to do after work. At all. But now that the brunette had asked, maybe she would be able to come up with something more interesting than just laying on a couch wrapped in a blanket. Why November had to be so cold anyways? Couldn’t at least the cold wait until December?

She took her phone out, and, with the dexterity of a literal goddess, she quickly sent a message to a certain teenager. All that while she still sorted the many halls and stairs across the faculty without stopping.

- **_”Hey there, 자기야. Work is terrible, as always. Do you mind if I visit you tonight? <3 <3”_ **

That last part made her die a little inside, but at least no one else would ever see how terribly sappy she was with the one she loved.

She sent the message, and quickly stowed away the phone in her pocket.

“Sheesh, one day you’re going to fall down the stairs and you won’t have anyone else to blame.” The younger woman chided her in a tone that not even herself could take seriously.

Grace smiled. “At least I wouldn’t have to work anymore.” The signal outside of the coffee room comforted her a little bit. “Sadly, I’m afraid that texting and walking is something that I’m too good at to allow that kind of mistake.” She opened the door and the smell of coffee and baked goods greeted her nostrils.

The small room that served as the only decent place in Tokodai where you could have a break from work was always a soothing sight. From the sofas placed around a rather large tv on one side, to the small bar on the other, filled with snacks, liquids, tea, coffee, kettles and all kind of assortments ranging from cups and saucers, to plates and tableware.

“Skipping work again, Grace?” A calm voice greeted her into the room.

A smug smile formed on the face of the Korean hacker. “Professor Shiratori, what a surprise! I was wondering the same thing!”

Masahiro Shiratori was a lanky old man, with short gray hair, a face that was in middle between gentle grandpa and hellish taskmaster, a person that donned the white coat of the faculty day and night, and a very prominent authority at Tokodai. He had led countless reforms and was the brilliant architect behind the grandiose research department. The same one that now gave terrible headaches to the Korean genius.

When he wasn’t hard at work supervising who knew how many projects and preparing his classes, he could be found in the rest area, lying on the couch trying to catch a glimpse of any baseball game the tv could offer. A hobby he had since he was just a child, playing on the vast fields of rural Osaka.

And now he was doing just that. “I understand that work ethics may vary between us, Asian Countries, but a constant work routine can save you from countless problems.” He smiled at the sight of a homerun. “Anyway, how’s the code coming up?”

Grace sighed, putting her hands on her coat’s pockets. “It’s a really delicate job, professor. One slip and everything will be for naught. And you know better than anyone how bad that could be.” Momoko handed her a bottle of mineral water and a package of rice crackers. “Thanks Momo, you’re a lifesaver.”

The short intern gave her a little smile. “How’s the game going, Shiratori-sensei?”

The old man laughed a little bit and stretched his arms to reactivate the circulation. “As always, child. As always.”

The raven haired woman smiled at the scene. Everything was as it should be. Old man Masahiro watching the game; Momo, trying to get into small talk with anyone; and her, caught between the stillness and the peacefulness of the situation.

She took a swig from the bottle, the refreshing sensation of the bubbles spreading in her mouth lifted her spirit a bit.

“You don’t drink coffee anymore, Grace?” Momoko asked, opening a package of crackers for herself. “I remember when you just couldn’t stop drinking the stuff.”

A sheepish smile appeared on the older woman’s face. “I-Is that so? I don’t really think it was  **that** bad.” A little lie was better than admitting that since she got a boyfriend that could make coffee on a whole new level, every other coffee just tasted like trash. “Anyway, I realized that drinking too much can be terrible for your health in the long run.”

“A wise choice.” Masahiro added.

Grace took her phone out of her pocket and eyed the screen. It had been a few minutes since she had sent the message to Akira, but there was no reply yet. 

She thought nothing of it. Maybe he was too busy to check his phone right now, like a normal student should. Yes, he’ll get the message later, then they would chat a little bit and end up in LeBlanc, as always.

“Your boyfriend is asking for you?” Momoko’s voice interrupted her trance. “Now I see why you wanted to get out of work so badly.”

“Even if that’s the case, the fact that I’m the one with the boyfriend still remains.” She stuck her tongue out.

The stubby girl chomped on a cookie with some fury. “Geez, not everyone can get a boyfriend as easily as you.” She sighed. “Sometimes I think about just giving up and getting one or two pets.”

“C’mon, don’t say that.” The raven-haired woman nudged her shoulder with tenderness. “You just have to wait, love is not like the movies. It needs time.”

“I’ve heard that one before.” She replied.

“I speak from experience. Believe me. I also thought that my love life was dead.”

A slight grunt of annoyance broke the conversation between the two women.

Grace looked over to see professor Masahiro shuffle what little hair he still had on his head with an annoyed expression on his face. “Is something the matter, old man?”

“The only moment I can watch a game in peace, and now this.” He extended his hand towards the television. “I swear that they do it on purpose.”

The korean woman looked at the tv. And then it happened.

_ “We are very sorry to interrupt the ongoing game, but we have a special report that just came in. It seems that the police, in an unprecedented operation, has just captured what could very well be the leader of the infamous Phantom Thieves this morning. For now, there hasn’t been any announcement from the top brass, but we will continue with the live coverage until new information has been disclosed.” _

She felt cold. So, so cold. It was like her very soul was slowly being chilled to its core. “T-the leader…?” She muttered, softly.

It couldn’t be, right? It was ridiculous. Who in their sane mind would make a mere child the leader of an international organization of thieves? Who would think of something as crazy as that? Then why... Why did she felt such a terrible heartache?

The crack of a rice cracker brought Grace back to reality. “Aw man, they got the leader?” Momoko’s voice had a slight tint of sadness. “The Thieves are gonna get busted.”

Masahiro didn’t answer. His face was in his usual state of deep contemplation.

She checked her phone once more, and her heart sank even lower. There was still no answer from Akira. He hadn’t even read the message at all. 

The pieces were falling, one after the other. She could feel her heart pounding on overdrive, the tip of her fingers slowly becoming numb. 

What if he really was the leader? The implications were terrible. That could very well mean that The Phantom Thieves weren’t really an organization composed of an array of assets and talented people from all walks of life and ages. What if they were just a group of teenagers? No, impossible. How could that be? A mere bunch of teenagers, beating up adults who had exponentially more resources and knowledge? It just didn’t compute. No such thing could happen. But Akira… he wasn’t a normal teenager. Could it be that… there was something else that she didn’t know?

Grace’s hands looked for her boyfriend’s number on the contact list and pressed it unconsciously. “C’mon Akira, answer.” She walked away from the other two in the room, to the farthest corner. “Answer the phone, and tell me that this is just a terrible coincidence. That you were just busy with school, club activities, gangs, drugs, anything. Just… answer me.”

_ “The number you’re trying to call is currently out of reach. Please, try again later.” _

The first time felt like an eternity. By the third, the dread was already starting to set in. After the fifth, she understood that it would be pointless to continue.

It was a terrible joke. A terrible, terrible joke. What happened to the mighty thief who could achieve the impossible? To the gallant trickster that could steal anything with his wits and a charming smile on his face?

Her breathing was erratic, she could feel the cold sweat and the goosebumps. The fear was starting to take control.

“Grace, are you ok?” The concerned voice of the young intern resonated in a remote corner of her mind.

Momoko was already getting suspicious. She had to get back to her usual self, and quickly.  _ “There’s no place for fear in my mind.” _ The words came back to her.  _ “Fear is the line between life and death. Fear is a liability. I’m in control, and no one else.” _

“Sorta.” Grace turned around, a small smile on her face. “I was just telling my boyfriend that perhaps today isn’t a good day for a date. I’m starting to feel pretty bad. I think I got a cold.”

The brunette gasped. “Oh no! It wasn’t me, right?” She looked at professor Shiratori.

“If you’re getting a cold in November, I don’t want to know how you’ll manage in December.” The old man chuckled, without even looking at them. “Anyway, you can’t keep working like that. Go home, drink some hot tea, get some medicine and stay in bed. Call in sick if your cold doesn’t go away tomorrow, got it?”

The raven haired woman made a formal bow towards the old professor. “I’ll make it up for this, professor. Thank you.”

He waved. “Don’t mention it. You young people have to take care of yourselves.” Masahiro got up from the sofa and gave her a comforting smile. “And tell your boyfriend that I hope he’s healthy too. The last thing we want is two people out of commission, eh?”

She nodded.

* * *

Grace went over the plan for the umpteenth time: Turn on her “work station”, getting access to the Central Police Station system and then performing an all out search for her currently vanished boyfriend.

Best outcome? The supposed leader wasn’t him, and she could go back to just feeling terrible. Worst outcome? She hadn’t got to that part. Yet. And it was better if she avoided that possibility entirely.

She sighed with relief once her key turned inside the lock. The trip back home had been a living hell; between the terrible dread churning non-stop on her mind and the urge of getting back home, it was a miracle that she hadn’t succumbed to madness.

The door closed with a loud noise, and her hands trembled a little bit as she put the lock on.

Everything was okay, everything would be fine, as long as she kept her grip on reality and worked fast, everything would be fine.

With fast steps, Grace approached her work station. A behemoth of a system she had personally designed and customized to offer the maximum efficiency and output a non-military system could offer. Yeah, she was proud of her little baby. Three monitors, a mini server, multiple routers and the like. Simple commodities for a sophisticated hacker like her.

She unpacked the contents of her bag on the desk, taking the phone as soon as she localized it amongst her other stuff. Quick hands delved into a spiral of apps and programs that were hidden between the facade of normalcy of her phone, and, after finally finding what she was looking for, she pressed the screen.

There was no ringing, no tone, not even a beep, but after a few seconds, a masculine voice answered. “You understand what it means to call me, don’t you?”

“I need a backdoor for the Tokyo Central Police Station.”

“The what?” There was a very obvious tone of indignation coming from the voice. “Grace, have you lost your mind?”

Her finger quickly pressed the power button and the whole compound of machines awoke once again. “Do you have it or not?”

A long sigh came from the other side of the line. “It’s not a matter if I have it or not, Grace, it’s a matter of why the hell do you need a backdoor access for a police station when you’re supposed to be a civilian.”

“They’ve captured the leader of the Phantom Thieves.” She answered.

“No way.” There was a brief silence on the line, followed by a loud noise. “Fucking hell. And you think the leader is…?”

“I have theories, suspicions. Nothing else.” Grace sat on her chair, prepping up her system with her free hand. “But I have a hunch. A terrible one. Best case, I can help the leader to escape. Worst case…”

“Worst case? You mean, what if the kid is the leader?”

Her left hand curled into a fist. She had to control those feelings, at least until she had what she needed. “He’s not a kid, Echo. He’s not.” Grace took a deep breath. “Look, I’ll worry about it when I get there, asymmetrical thinking, remember?”

Masaru tried to laugh at the comment, but his voice came more as a whimper than anything else. “Yeah, of course you would improvise, Dokkaebi. But, what if I refuse?”

“Then you wouldn’t have answered in the first place.”

This time, he was able to laugh. “Hibana was right. I need to stick to drones. People are too difficult.”

Her eyes centered on the screen in front of her. A dozen windows and programs were up and running, waiting for a single signal. “So?”

“I don’t think that anything I could say would change your mind.”

“At least you learnt that right about me.”

“Yeah, whatever, Dokki.” Grace imagined Echo rolling his eyes in that exact moment. A thought that amused her to no end. “Well, you’re an adult and a special operative who understands the risks and complications something as harebrained as this carries, so, I’ll give you what you want.”

She let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Masaru. I promise that you won’t hear from me again.”

He chuckled a little at the heartfelt comment. “Hey, I’m not made of stone. I understand how love feels, and how terrible it is for common sense.” Echo went silent for a minute, before continuing. “Besides, I didn’t say you couldn’t call again, did I? Just, don’t ask for things like this, alright?”

A sad smile appeared on her face. “I’ll keep that in mind. Goodbye.”

“If there’s anyone in the world who could pull something like this, it’s you, Grace. Good luck.”

Just as the line went silent, a sudden message appeared on her PC. An encrypted message had just arrived through her personal IP address.

“I got out of a war to end up in another.” She muttered to herself. “But this time, at least I can fight back on my own.”

* * *

“The police needs to upgrade their security, geez.” Grace huffed, her fingers moving non stop across the whole keyboard. “I’m amazed that they haven’t been hacked yet.”

Well, technically, she was taking care of that, but it didn’t matter. Getting inside was the easy part. It always was. The hard part was traversing through the system without leaving any trace or indication of her presence.

Of course, she could’ve just smashed through the front door and enact a scorched earth protocol on the whole mainframe, but that was absolutely out of the question. If the police caught wind that a hacker was destroying the system, at the exact same time when they had the leader of The Phantom Thieves in custody, then who knew how they would react. No, the safety of the hostage was her first, second and last priority. Even when a felon could hardly be called a hostage.

Her eyes examined the schematics once more. The building was, on its majority, filled with bureaucratic facilities and offices. A small part, which seemed to occupy a good portion of the lower levels, was reserved for the interrogation rooms and temporary holding facilities. Pretty standard. Even if it was bigger than a normal police station, in the end, It was still a police station, not a jail.

She focused on the subterranean levels. The only two possibilities where the police could have brought their guest were the holding cells, or one of the interrogation rooms.

Grace clicked on the holding cells. Instantly, the cameras that were monitoring the halls showed their live feed. “Come out, come out, wherever you are…” From one camera to the other, her sight bounced around with fury. Empty hallways were the only answer the raven haired woman got from the silent compound. “이런 젠장.” She cursed.

Not even a single person was wandering around the cells. If the leader of the Thieves was really in there, then it should've been as many cops as they could possibly spare. She disconnected from the cameras, and immediately hopped onto her next destination with as much care as she could.

“ _ One down, one to go. _ ” The clean image of a long and somber corridor appeared on her screen. “ _ Bingo _ ” Her lips curled into a mischievous smile.

There, just outside of what should be interrogation room number 5, at the end of the hallway, three men stood. One was a police officer, donning the whole attire for the occasion. The other two were a little more difficult. They wore black suits and their faces were anything but friendly. This situation was obviously more complicated than the news reported it to be.

Her cursor quickly selected the camera corresponding to the interrogation room number 5. A black screen was the only thing that greeted the korean hacker.

“Nothing?!” Grace exclaimed, visibly altered by the dead end. “Oh no, no no no no no.” Her hands moved frantically on the keyboard. She was close, so close. Then why, why there was no image on the monitor?

Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. The only reason why the police wouldn’t want to keep an eye on a prime suspect, was if there were some things that no one outside of that room should see.

Torture, physical and psychological punishment, abuse of power, police brutality, the list went on. If someone outside of the institution caught wind of that, then, the repercussions could be cataclysmic for the higher ups.

The raven haired woman slammed her desk with fury. On her screen, a giant notification flashed. “Admin access required…” She gritted her teeth.

One of the main admins had cut the transmission a few hours before she could infiltrate the system. Getting the access back wasn’t the issue. The issue was, by doing that, she would be basically announcing her presence to the whole department of cybernetic crimes of the Tokyo Police Department.

Grace took a deep breath. “I’m down, but not out. There must be a trail somewhere.” She checked the logs, the active users, the database concerning the interrogation room number 5, anything that could help her advance through the darkness. That’s when it hit her. “They may have cut the feed, but that doesn’t mean the camera didn’t record anything before that.”

To her relief, the previous recording session was still in the database. It seemed that the storage capacity reserved for the vigilance cameras was quite big, despite the fact that every other priority was terribly distributed. She clicked on the registry, and the whole archive of the interrogation room cameras appeared before her eyes. The cursor selected the file pertaining to room 5, and soon enough, the whole video was buffered on her machine.

Now came the worst part. The camera had been recording non stop since yesterday’s afternoon. That left her with more than 16 hours of raw, unfiltered footage. Which parts were just the room, and which ones contained the Leader of the Phantom Thieves? Only the camera and those in charge of observing the footage really knew. It was a gamble. A really big one at that.

Her hand slowly moved to the time frame between the noon and the evening of that very day. If the news were at least remotely correct, then, it seemed like the most probable time to conduct an interrogation.

But before she could click on it, she noticed that her hand was trembling. It was trembling in fear for what was about to come. “It’s too late now. We’re doing this, like it or not.” Steeling herself, she clicked on the button.

There are some things in life that don't matter how much you prepare for them. They will always get you.

_ “Guess the drug was too strong...” _

Breathing became difficult. Her heart was roaring inside of her chest, whilst the terrible heartache she had felt earlier in the day was in full force.

She didn’t want to believe her eyes, but the images were too clear to ignore.

Inside the interrogation room number 5, was Akira Kurusu, wearing the unmistakable uniform of Shuujin, with his hands handcuffed to the chair he was currently sitting on. His head hung low, his body remained in total stillness. It was clear that he had lost consciousness via unknown means, and was now awaiting for something. Or someone.

That someone being the three black-suited men inside the room, in front of him.

_ “Wake him up.” _ The man in the middle spoke.

The young trickster was greeted with a bucket of cold water, courtesy of the man on the right side.

Akira slowly came back from the terrible state he had been a few moments ago. He shook his head, trying to break free from the drowsiness, but the cuffs prevented him from actually achieving anything.

_ “No dozing off.” _ The raven haired teen struggled in vain against the handcuffs. The man in the middle took a few steps towards him in a menacing manner.  _ “You still don’t get it, do you? Give it up!” _ He kicked Akira with enough force to send him flying a few meters away.

In that moment, Grace paused the video. It had taken every bit of resolve she had in her body to stop her feelings from bursting out at the beginning, but that last thing? That was too much. Even for her.

It was a nightmare on top of another.

“Akira… It can’t be… No…” Her breathing was erratic, her hands cramped on the sides of the keyboard. “He is… He really is…” A knot inside her throat prevented her from completing the phrase.

The truth had finally dawned on her. Akira Kurusu, a mere teenager, was the supreme leader and mastermind behind the Phantom Thieves. Her boyfriend ended up being the most wanted person in Japan for trying to right the wrongs of society. And now, he was on the short end of the stick, receiving torture after torture from the agents that were supposed to bring order and protect the people.

She clicked on the fast-forward button. The teenager received another beating, followed by the same man, stepping on his leg, probably trying to “convince” him to confess crimes that could not be pinned to him without enough evidence.

“Confession obtained via illegal methods.” Grace added another strike to her mental list. Then, she pressed the play button once more. “Akira… are you…?”

_ “Huh? What about the camera?”  _ The man grabbed Akira by the hair, a cocky smile on his face _. “Are you thinking it can be used as video evidence?” _

Grace paused the video. Her eyes focused on her boyfriend’s face.

Indeed. The raven haired teenager was looking straight at her, at the camera. The hacker tried to distinguish what was inside his eyes. Was it fear? Panic? Regret? Maybe if he wasn’t so exhausted by the torture, and his senses so dulled by the drugs, then maybe, she would be able to understand what he was thinking in that moment.

The video continued.  _ “You still haven’t figured it out? There are no laws here that will protect criminals like you.”  _ The man let go of his hair with violence. He immediately stood up and kicked the younger man in the guts with prejudice.

Slowly, her hand moved the cursor to the time frame between yesterday night and today in the morning. It was something that she did without even thinking about it, but she felt like it was important for the next step.

She clicked.

A loud thunk could be heard the moment Akira crashed against the metal floor of the room. A couple of men entered the room after him. The teenager tried to stand up, but his legs gave him no response. The men laughed. 

Grace clicked on another segment, this time, on the first hours of the morning.

The raven haired teenager was lying on the floor, totally unconscious. He was still accompanied, a single man stood close to him, looking for any signs of life. After Akira shuffled a bit on his drug induced sleep, the man took out a cellphone and proceeded to call someone. After a few seconds, he threw out a needle he had been carrying on the other hand.

The same thing repeated over and over again. It didn’t matter which time she picked, Akira would be there. He had been there since yesterday. And she had been none the wiser.

That was everything she needed.

“You gave me back my life.” Grace stood up from her chair, her hands curled into fists. “Now I’ll use it to take back yours.”

* * *

It was a terrible idea. Horrible, stupid, harebrained, destined to fail, but it was the only one she could come up with in such a short time.

“Thatcher would laugh his hairy and old ass off.” Grace huffed, as her clothes were thrown out of the closet. “And Six… well… Six would never approve this kind of idea. But he’s not on the hot seat right now.”

Of course the de facto leader and mentor of Team Rainbow would not approve of what could only be seen as a “premeditated suicide”. Who in their sane mind would think about just getting into the station, enacting a scorched earth protocol on the main system and then forcing her way through the floors to reach into the interrogation rooms?

Grace Nam. That’s who.

After finding what clothes would be the closest to what she wore during her military days, the korean hacker double checked her computer. It was still downloading the footage from the security cameras. The process was slow as molasses, but there was no other way to get such a gigantic file without alerting anyone about the digital theft.

“It’s not so hard. I’m a trained professional with years of experience and Akira…” She stopped as soon as she felt the tears coming. The raven haired woman resisted the urge with all of her might. It wasn’t the moment to cry. That would come after rescuing the leader of the Phantom Thieves. “Akira is the leader of an organization known for doing the impossible. And the man I love.” That last phrase gave her a glimmer of hope. Something she sorely needed in that dark hour.

With quick hands, she threw her beanie onto the bed, and her glasses onto the nearby table. “If only I had my Logic Bomb with me…” Grace sighed. “But of course the Korean army would keep it. At least they should’ve let me take it as a farewell gift.”

A dim glimmer interrupted her diatribe. On the kitchen counter, her cellphone was shining on intervals. It was lit for a few seconds, then off. The raven haired woman approached the counter with a slow pace.

Step by step, she counted the intervals. Once it repeated enough times, she quickly grabbed the phone, answering the call.

“Heeeeeeeey, Echo! Just the person I wanted to hear. Listen, I know I said I would never ask for anything else but, you see…”

“Grace. Listen to me. Turn on your tv.  **Now** .” Masaru’s voice came hard. With fury. 

“I don’t have time for the tv. I’m kind of busy right now.”

“Grace, the tv. And please,  **please.** Deep breaths.”

Those comments were too unsettling to ignore. Echo wasn’t the kind of person to lose its temper too easily, but this time, it sounded really serious.

She found the remote lying under the pillows of the sofa in front of the tv.

“Ok, but promise me that you’ll listen to my request after…” Her finger pressed the power button.

_ “...The police has confirmed his death, although details have not been released.” _

At first, it felt like she had just taken a sledgehammer in the chest. Her heart rate started to accelerate, her breaths were erratic, she was sweating cold. Fear had just given way to panic.

“Echo… Echo? Whose death?” She asked, her voice constrained by pain. “They’re not referring to… is… is he...?”

“Grace, listen. Listen to my voice, don’t give up on me. Grace!”

Masaru’s voice drifted away from her ears.

_ “I repeat, the suspect has committed suicide while in custody. This station will continue to report any further updates as they arrive.” _

She felt the tears falling down, dripping onto the floor. “Akira…” She whispered, trying to salvage what was left of her sanity.

But it was already too much for her mind. The situation had taken its toll on her, and the only thing that remained, was the breakdown.

Grace fell on her knees, gasping for what little air she could get between the crushing pain in her chest and the sorrowful wails.

She cried. Cried with everything she had in her lungs. Her voice stained with the pain, the fear, and her never ending love for a man that had just left the world. A man that gave everything he had to save her from the clutches of a tyrant. The same man that now she had failed to protect.

Scars may heal. But the heart always remembers.

And as the sun outside went down, giving way to the night and the darkness; so did her soul.

“Grace?! Fuck, fuck, fuck! GRACE! ANSWER ME! GRACE?!”

This time, no one answered back. The echoes of a mourning woman are the only indications that an instant ago, a living being was on the other side of the line.


	19. The weight of my feelings

_ “The human body has only three answers to fear: _

_ You’ll shake uncontrollably, unable to act, even to save your life. _

_ You’ll run away as fast as you can from whatever is causing that fear. This is the most natural way to act, it’s your instinct kicking in full to save your arse. _

_ Or three: You’ll ignore your own survival instinct, and instead, you’ll choose to fight the source of that fear. _

_ When I’m done with you, the third one will be the only correct answer engraved in your brains.” _

* * *

Grace gasped for air as hard as her lungs allowed her to.

It was a nightmare. Another one from the endless stream that had been assaulting her sleep since… that incident.

How many had it been? She lost count after the tenth time Akira had appeared in her dreams, just to die in front of her very eyes. At least they were creative. 

Sometimes the teenager managed to grab the gun of an unsuspecting officer. In others, it was his own belt the thing that provided an ultimate means of escape.

Then, there were the gruesome ones. A makeshift shiv, acquired from who knew where did its job far too well. Relentless head bashing would make her wish she was deaf. Of course, you can’t forget tongue biting. The blood splattered across the walls and the floor would take weeks to clean.

For those, she would wake up screaming and crying, asking for him to stop and reconsider. Those were definitely the worst.

The raven haired woman remained still. As far as she knew, she was lying down somewhere in her apartment. The lights were off, and outside was still dark.

Her throat was dry, her eyelids felt heavy. Whatever sleep she could get, was always abruptly interrupted by the nightmares.

“How much was this time?” Grace asked herself, in a whisper.

Her hands explored the surroundings with care. She did not want to repeat what had happened a few hours ago, when she woke up abruptly in contact with the floor after falling asleep on a chair.

She sighed with relief. Even in her terrible state, her subconscious still worked at an acceptable level, hence the reason why she was now lying across the sofa in front of the tv.

Clumsily, she looked for her cellphone, but it was in vain. There were no signs of it, at least not on her current location.

The hacker blinked a few times to ease her sight into the darkness. When her eyes were able to distinguish the furniture, she lowered her feet to the cold ground.

“Ah.” A small exclamation escaped her lips as her skin made contact with the gelid floor. “One sock is not enough for this weather.”

Slowly, she stood up from her impromptu bed, and with careful steps, she navigated the darkness of her apartment, in search of her phone.

The raven haired woman rubbed her arms. The air was freezing, and her choice of clothing wasn’t helping either. Speaking of which, why was she wearing just a lousy t-shirt, her pajama pants and only one sock?

Perhaps it would be better if she took care of it, once her phone was found. If she could find it, of course.

Her steps guided her to the bedroom, to the restroom, to the kitchen and then back to the living room. It didn’t matter where she looked, the damn thing had just vanished into thin air.

If she had some energy left, then she would throw something akin to a tantrum. But now… whatever was left inside of her, only felt like a cold and deep void. “What a great time to be left alone.” Grace sat once again on the sofa. Her knees next to her chest and her arms around her legs in an effort to regain some warmth. “Here it comes…”

Sadness fell over her once more. It was always like that. Nightmares tortured her while asleep, whilst depression and anguish battered her during the waking hours. It was a battle she was destined to lose.

Suddenly, an unknown object grazed her hand, startling the korean hacker. “I’m not in the mood for scares right now.” Grace’s hand quickly grabbed the foreign object, lifting it closer to her eyes. “The remote… not really what I need, but…”

She pressed the power button without thinking it much, and the tv came to life with a bright flash of light.

_ “...The suspect was just a high-school student. He had to leave his hometown because of his previous record. Perhaps his motives laid there.” _

The raven haired woman didn’t even try to change or even turn off the tv. She was tired of fighting against the demons inside of her. Tired of crying over every single mention of Akira. So, this time, she just let it slip. One more time, one less time, it didn’t matter anymore. The sadness would always be there, ready to wash her away.

_ “However, it was reported that he remained silent to the very end, refusing to indicate any possible accomplice.” _

Even after his death, her lover had managed to remain true to his own sense of justice. Not even torture could take that away from him.

Her eyes hurt once more. They were trying to cry. Cry because he wasn’t there anymore, because she had failed to protect him just as she had promised. Because there was nothing she could do to bring him back, even though Grace would give anything to do so.

But no tears came this time. There were none left. She had spent a whole lifetime supply of those just in the past day and a half. So her eyes just hurt. They hurt like a thousand needles, and they would continue to hurt, until her own sorrow vanished.

The korean hacker tried to breathe but it sounded and felt more like a weak sob than anything else. “I need to get out of this… I need to get this out of me…” she hugged her legs with desperation, trying to create a small respite between her and the terrible monster gnawing at her mind.

And had she tried, with all of her might, but trying was everything she could do. It went horribly bad, even with every single piece of advice she could recall, the whole ordeal was a living hell.

The first hours were surreal. Nothing made sense, time had lost its meaning, hunger and thirst melded with the pain and the sadness, making it hazy at best to realize what was wrong at any given moment. At some point she had tried to take a shower, thinking that the water could wash away some of the sorrow. The result was spending a couple of hours under a stream of hot water without doing anything.

At the very least she was able to muster what little consciousness was left inside of her to call in sick. She didn’t remember who picked up the phone, or what she actually said, but the tone of concern on the other side of the phone was very clear. Maybe someone would check on her after a few days. That would give her a little bit of solace.

If she made it that far.

Suddenly, Grace’s stomach cried with a loud noise. “Huh… when was the last time I ate? Half a day ago? A day ago?” She slowly rubbed her abdomen. “Better fix this before I forget. Again.”

With quick steps, the raven haired woman entered the kitchen. The floor was as cold as the rest of the house, and the incessant humming coming from the fridge was more noticeable than ever, but at least the dim light coming from the kitchen appliances provided a much needed guide amongst the darkness.

Her hands clumsily looked around the cupboards for a glass, but she found none. It was perplexing, she must’ve had a couple of those in the cupboards. There were no signs of broken glass around the house, so the possibility of her breaking them in a fit of rage was out of the question. She didn’t find any in the living room or her bedroom when she was in search of her lost phone, so the glasses never left the kitchen. Then where…?

The moment her gaze fell onto the kitchen sink was when she truly understood how deep was the pit she was currently in.

Inside the sink were a plethora of glasses, plates, forks and spoons. All of them dirty with traces of food and liquids.

Grace opened the door of the fridge. The last remnants of anything that could be barely edible were already gone, leaving only empty wrappings and containers.

That should’ve been the perfect moment to feel some sort of dread, fear, or even desperation, but her mind was tired, exhausted, utterly drained of any other feeling than pain and sadness. Now she only wondered if she could muster the strength to actually get out of her apartment to buy some food to replenish the fridge.

“Haha…” The raven haired woman tried to laugh, but only a small whimper came out. “I bet that some curry would hit the spot right now.” Grace said that last sentence without even thinking about it. But when she realized the weight of her words, the pain in her heart only increased.

She finally realized, she had lost the battle. Lost her way and the love of her life. Grace had played the game of love with such passion and recklessness that now, all that was left were the ashes of her relationship. And she had been left scarred, burnt and alone, standing in a field of dying embers.

A loud buzzing interrupted her fall into the abyss. “Is that…?” Her head slowly turned around, searching for the source of the disturbance. “A phone?”

For a single moment, the thought that it could be another hallucination caused by the lack of sleep and depression crossed her mind, but the vibration continued uninterrupted.

Grace exited the badly lit kitchen, out into the living room. In there, she scanned the surroundings once more. The noise wasn’t coming from there, either. Desperated, the ex-special operative sharpened her senses.

“The closet…” She muttered, before darting onto her bedroom at full steam.

Once inside the room where her clothes and shoes resided, she fell onto her knees, just besides a small gabinet on the farthest corner of the room.

Her trembling hand slowly approached the small buzzing compartment. The cold sweat only made the frigid atmosphere even more unbearable.

She gulped. Her hand carefully pulled the handle, and soon enough, the formerly lost phone appeared before her eyes.

“The worst and last place where I could forget this…” Grace said to herself in a whisper.

Because she knew that, even when there was no light in the room besides her phone, inside the small compartment there was a secret space. A space that unless one knew where and what to look for, it went absolutely unnoticed. And inside that secret space, something terrible dwelled. Something that she had held on her hands countless times in the past, and now represented the most horrible way out of any problem.

When Kuh was almost on her neck, she thought of using it. But now… it was better if the thought remained out of her mind. Permanently.

Luckily for her, the ever present buzzing coming from the phone provided the perfect distraction.

With quick fingers, the raven-haired woman turned off the alarm that had started the whole event, and, under the dim lighting of the screen, she proceeded to check out if someone had tried to contact her in the past few days.

There were a few messages from Momoko, in her usual peppy and cheerful style, wishing for a quick recovery and stating how boring was working without her usual presence. Professor Masahiro had written a single message. Extremely formal and full of tips for treating a cold that only old age and rural knowledge could provide.

One caught the eye of the savvy hacker. A seemingly random message, full of random symbols and pieces of text. It was from Echo, no doubt. All she had to do to decode it, was to just run it through one of the many decoders she had created for that effect. But she didn’t want to. At least not now. Not when she was lacking the strength to even make a single phone call.

But once she got to Akira’s number, her finger stopped, hovering just above it.

“Why?” Grace gritted her teeth, fighting back the urge to just break down and cry on the floor. “You never asked me. You never told me. Was it that important to maintain your little facade as a master thief? Was it that hard to ask for help?” Her grip on the phone tightened. “So why, why do I still love you so much?”

It didn’t matter anymore. Her thumb pressed the number without a second thought, and instantly, the myriad of conversations she had once maintained with a young and daring teenager scrolled on the screen.

Every “I love you”, every “I want to see you”, every word and sentence felt like a thousand needles on her heart, and in the end, just after all those conversations, a single sentence remained, written by herself in a moment that could very well be part of her imagination, caught between a terrible nightmare and the incandescent love from her heart: “I’m sorry. I love you. Always have, always will”.

She fell to the cold, hard ground, curled into a ball, the phone nestled against her chest. Her body too tired to keep fighting, her eyes too pained to remain open.

“Maybe the nightmares won’t be so bad this time…”

And as the cold crept into her body, and her heavy eyelids fell over her gaze, the raven-haired woman finally felt that she could be able to sleep for a while. Maybe forever, inside a room containing a permanent solution and the memories of the love she treasured so much.

A small vibration on her chest interrupted her last waking moments. With lazy hands, Grace removed the phone from its safe location, and slowly brought the screen to her face.

“For the love of everything, Momoko, two messages are more than…” Her eyes suddenly shot open.

Like a lighting bolt, the Korean hacker separated herself from the ground. She stood upright, trembling in the middle of the darkness inside the closet, her eyes wide open, unable to peel themselves from the screen.

_ “There’s nothing to apologize for. If anything, I should apologize.” _

Grace eyed the message that had appeared out of nowhere, in a conversation with someone that should not exist anymore.

“22nd of November. 9:32 AM… Today.” She whispered whilst her heart beated so loud that she thought it was trying to escape from her chest. “No way…”

Her fingers were frozen in place, her head was spinning faster than she could process. She was utterly and absolutely dumbfounded.

Was it another dream? Another nightmare? Maybe the floor would suddenly collapse, and she would fall once again into an endless pit of darkness and desperation. Or maybe the phone would simply vanish from her hands, and she would wake up once again, on another part of the house, cold and sore from sleeping on a hard surface.

But none of that happened. A couple of minutes went by, and there were no signs of waking up or falling down into a nightmare. It was real. It was the real deal.

The raven-haired woman wanted to scream. Scream so loud enough that her lungs would give up and the pain would then tell if it was real or not. But not even a whisper came from her mouth.

She was giving into panic and her body only had one answer to it: To freeze in place.

“ _ Don’t run, don’t run, don’t run, don’t run, don’t…”  _ Grace repeated countless times in her mind, just as she had learnt in the army. “ _ I’m in control, no one else. No one else, no one else…” _

Her fingers twitched.

Slowly, her thumb approached the screen, and, aided by every single ounce of willpower she could muster in that awful condition, she finally pressed Akira’s number.

The image of the young thief appeared on the screen, with the word “calling” written in Korean just above it. With a trembling hand, she brought the phone to her ear.

One second, two, three. Grace held her breath, for what seemed like an eternity, but once she heard the marking tone, the longest sigh up until that point in her life escaped her lips.

“It’s a little bit earlier than usual, but you don’t know how happy I am to hear your voice, Eun Hye.”

And just like that, her whole world turned upside down once again. “Akira… Akira…?” She muttered. “It’s you… it’s really you…”

A small chuckle came from the other side of the line. “Of course it’s me. This is my number, is it not?”

“I want to see you. Now.”

Her answer came fast and violent, without a single hint of doubt or care.

There was a small pause in the conversation before his answer could be heard. “I would love to, but right now it’s impossible. And this is for your safety, more than mine.”

“Akira, listen to me. I want to see you.  **Now.** ” Grace slowly stepped out of the closet and directed her steps towards the living room once more. “It doesn’t matter where, it doesn’t matter how. I need to see you.”

This time, the silence was even more noticeable. “Are we fighting? Is this a fight?”

The Korean woman looked outside of the window, towards the city bathed in the weak light of the sun that struggled against the winter scenery. “It can be, if you want it to. Is this a fight, Akira?”

“Eun Hye, are you alright? You sound ter-“

“I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!” Her scream resounded through the line, her voice drenched with a thousand emotions. “Do you understand? DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW IT FEELS TO THINK THAT THE ONE YOU LOVE THE MOST IN THIS WORLD IS DEAD?!”

“... It’s a long story.” The teenager answered in a low voice.

Grace sighed, too tired to keep up with all the anger. “I’m sorry, I shouldn't have screamed, but… I saw you getting tortured. And then, with the news of the suicide of the leader of the Phantom Thieves, well… thinking the worst wasn’t that hard. It never is.” She pinched her temples. “It hasn’t been a good couple of days.”

This time, it was the young rogue turn to sigh. “How did you know about the torture?”

“Akira, for fucks sake, I’m your girlfriend. How long have we been dating?” The older woman felt like she was two steps away from falling into madness. “You already know what I used to do. How hard do you think it is for me to just hack into a police station and steal the camera footage?”

“Not hard at all.” He answered.

Grace curled her free hand into a fist. “I’ve been through hell, and then some more. These past few days I’ve had nightmares that could last me for a lifetime. All I could think or even dream about was your supposed suicide.” The raven-haired woman waited a few seconds for a reaction, but only silence greeted her. “And even though I’ve felt that time has no meaning anymore and I can’t even realize if this is another one of my nightmares, waiting for the moment I open the door to plunge me into more despair by making me wake up in a dark and cold world without you in it, even then… I still want to see you. Because I love you. I still do.”

“I don’t deserve you…” Akira’s voice crackled a little bit. “I don’t deserve your love or your concern. I should’ve just told you about all of this...”

“You still can.” She interrupted. “I’m sure there’s an explanation that will appease my need to punch you as hard as I can. And I want to hear it. So, can I see you now?”

The older woman eyed the sun once more, still covered by the winter clouds, and, as the rays slowly started to slash their way through the grey shield, her body recovered some of the warmth she thought forever lost the moment she heard the young man answer: “Alright. For your safety, try to disguise yourself a little. I would suggest even getting rid of those white stripes on your hair, but that’s part of your charm, so I’ll leave it to you. When you’re ready, find me at LeBlanc. As always.”

“Give me fifteen minutes.” Grace sniffed her clothes. “Ok, maybe twenty.”

* * *

They say, that those who are on the death row find the moments leading to their execution a living hell. A fitting punishment for their crimes. On the other hand, the moments leading to something that a person has always dreamed of are considered to be pure and simple bliss. For the leader of The Phantom Thieves, he was caught amidst those two, adding to the terrible feeling he was now drowning in.

On one hand, he was going to finally see the face of his girlfriend after pulling a stunt that would be considered impossible by anyone else. On the other, that same girlfriend was pissed beyond measure thanks to the very same stunt (and the fact that he may have not told her about the whole thing, wanting to protect her) and was on her way to enact a mighty vengeance should the answers left her unsatisfied.

Akira tried to stretch his muscles, but he flinched the moment his body lashed out in pain, still affected by the countless hours of torture. “I might not survive another beating…” He whispered to himself, as he massaged his tired and beaten up limbs.

The teenager almost jumped up in fear the moment he heard the unmistakable chime of LeBlanc’s door announcing the beginning of the end.

With all the care he could muster, the young thief got up from his resting position, and carefully sat on the edge of the bed, with his arms resting on his legs, as he had done countless times in the past.

The moment he heard light steps on the stairs, Akira closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Because the storm was already there, along with the consequences of his actions.

When the steps finally stopped, he opened his eyes.

Bittersweet could have been a very good word, but not for them. Not in that moment.

The rogue eyed his older lover, and his heart sank. True to her skill, she was dressed in a way that only those who knew the intricacies of her facial expressions could recognize: There were no trace of her glasses, her hair was now on a ponytail, the white stripes somewhat covered thanks to a hair comb and some gel. She wore a long, deep blue coat to shield her from the cold, black jeans and long, dark brown high heeled boots. The most impressive thing? Under her right arm, a large sized purse rested.

But the clothes weren’t the cause of his concern. It was her face. Her usually jolly and sometimes borderline cocky expressions were gone for good. She was pale, her eyes without any shine and under them, the dark circles just kept piling on.

Grace wasn’t getting it easy either. In front of her, the leader of the Phantom Thieves was sitting at the edge of a flimsy bed, his face marked all over with bruises and bandages. Over his body he wore a shoddy pajama composed of a long sleeved dark t-shirt and washed down green pants. And, if she had to guess, it would be obvious that under his clothes, whatever happened to his face had been repeated all over his body.

“Grace, I…”

“I brought you some haejangguk.” The older woman interrupted him by taking out a plastic bag from her purse. “I thought you might need it after… all that…”

Akira gave her a very confused look. “A what now?”

Slowly, she placed the bag on the table at her right. “Korean hangover soup. It’s supposedly very effective against headaches, stomachaches, and other aches.” Grace kept her eyes on the bag. “I know that... you can’t compare a simple hangover with torture, but… I thought that maybe…” Her voice cracked at the end.

A brief silence fell onto the attic.

“Maybe you should have some too.” He sighed. “You look pretty bad yourself.”

Upon hearing those words, the raven-haired woman quickly turned her gaze towards the young man, her eyes shining with fury. “Me? I’m the one who looks bad?! Have you looked at yourself?!” Grace stomped towards her boyfriend with fury. “Look at you! Look at what they’ve done to you!”

The master thief steeled himself for the worst, but, instead of inflicting pain, his girlfriend sat alongside him with a violent gesture. For a moment he wondered if the plastic boxes that supported his bed would be strong enough to prevent an unsightly fall into the wooden floor, but that thought was quickly interrupted the moment he saw Grace’s hands approach his face 

He jolted a little bit, unconsciously. His danger sense was still screwed and on constant alert thanks to the prolonged torture, a fact that the korean hacker was too quick to notice.

The punch never came. Nor the slaps or even the choke holds, instead, he felt on his cheeks the unmistakable softness coming from the palms of the woman he loved more than anything in the world. Akira looked at her eyes, drowned in sadness and sorrow.

“What did they do to you, Akira?” She muttered, trying to hold back the uncontrollable sobs. “What did they do to you, my love?”

Those guys in the black suits could’ve torn his heart apart with knives if they wanted, and the pain would’ve been less than the one he was experiencing. “That’s nothing compared with what I’ve done to you…” Akira turned his eyes away from hers.

“What? No no, no no no no, Akira, listen…” the older woman cupped his cheeks with even more tenderness, caressing them in short intervals trying to calm him down. “Yes, I went through hell, and yes, I felt worse than I’ve ever experienced in my life, BUT… In there, I was my worst and only enemy. You were surrounded by them. No allies, no help, no nothing. What if they decided to dispose of you quickly? What if the higher ups wanted to get rid of you without leaving any evidence? Huh? What then?”

“It was part of the plan!” The teenager took her hands away from his cheeks. “I was prepared to accept that risk, it was necessary, but you?” He tried to cup her face, but his hand struggled with the guilt in his heart. “I’m supposed to protect you, not hurt you. But look at me, I can’t even protect myself… I’m a failure of a boyfriend.”

Grace turned away from him, her hands clasped together. “Don’t say that, just… don’t.” She twiddled her thumbs a little bit. “You’ve been a wonderful boyfriend. I’m the one who failed to protect you.”

“How could you know, if I never told you anything? Don’t blame yourself, Grace.”

That last part hurt the raven-haired woman the most. The first time she heard him call her by her normal name, it was pretty obvious something was terribly wrong. Now, it was clear that he didn’t feel worthy enough to call her by something so intimate as her Korean name. Something reserved for lovers closely tied together. Something that now laid fractured between them.

The older woman lowered her head and sighed. “It’s not easy. Not when we’re both running around trying to step on our tails.” At least she could try to be the responsible adult in the relationship. A title she reluctantly accepted in that moment of crisis.

“It never is. We’re two in this relationship.” Akira answered, sensing her desire to mend the cracks before it was too late. “We had it easy before because we never had a real fight. It just turns out that our first fight is a really big one.”

Grace looked at her younger lover. His gaze was still lost somewhere else, refusing to look at her, but she could still see the traces of the gallant thief that saved her before. Beneath the bandages and the bruises, he was still the same debonair daredevil, the same man that stole her heart.

Akira flinched a little bit once he saw Grace’s hand in his field of vision. He looked at the raven-haired woman. She was smiling. Even though she was hurting inside and her heart had been battered by the pain, she was still smiling. 

“Remember what you said to me once? About our fights?” She leaned towards him, her hand still extended. “If we work together, we can get over this. But I need you. I can’t do this all by myself.”

The teenager nodded, a sad smile on his lips. “Yeah, I remember those words…” Akira looked at his hand, bandaged and with some cuts on it. “Are you still willing to work with me, willing to mend the cracks and heal our wounds?”

She let out a small chuckle, the first one in a long, long time that almost felt like an eternity. “You accepted me when all I could give you were half truths and evasive answers. When I tried to keep you away from me, you valiantly stood alongside me in my hour of need.” Her smile shone even brighter, fueled by the love in her heart. “So I think it’s fair, that I do everything I can to keep this relationship going. After all… I promised you that we would have a wonderful future, together.”

There was no more doubt in his heart. With the same resolve he used to become Joker, he took her hand. “I’d like to see that future, Eun Hye.” Tears of pure happiness started to form on the corners of her eyes. “If you still want me at your side.”

In that moment, Grace broke up. With tears flowing freely from her eyes, she launched herself towards her younger lover. “Yes, yes of course…” She hugged him with all the strength her weakened form could muster. “You’re the only one I want with me… don’t go, please don’t go. Not now that I’ve finally got you back.”

“I’m here, I’m here.” Akira hugged her back, caressing her tired body while he planted a myriad kisses on her head. “I’m not going anywhere.”

The two lovers remained in that embrace for a few minutes, until the younger of the pair noticed the body of the older woman relaxing, losing what little strength she had in her arms.

Slowly, he moved one of the locks of hair covering part of her head. Her eyes were closed, a peaceful smile on her lips. He kissed her forehead one more time, and, with all the care in the world, he deposited Grace over the bed.

Akira looked at the raven haired woman and smiled with tenderness. She had finally reached the peak, and all of the exhaustion and tiredness had crashed down onto her. The master thief chuckled a little bit. Even the most courageous and driven woman in the world needed to sleep once in a while.

Now, the teenager found himself pinned against the task of taking some clothes off of the older woman and getting her under the blankets of the bed. Something that proved far more difficult than picking a chest or sneaking around a Palace.

The boots came easy enough. The coat and her handbag however, were a different story and taking them off was the closest the rogue had ever been to a bomb defusal. Luckily for him, Grace didn’t even budge one bit. Once he was sure that his girlfriend wouldn't die of asphyxiation thanks to the heat, he proceeded to move her under the covers.

Akira gave his lover one last glance, and, satisfied with his work, stood from the bed to take a small rest on the old sofa.

“Don’t leave me here, all alone…” A weak voice stopped the thief in his tracks.

He turned around, and found the Korean woman, half awake, half asleep between the sheets, her eyes shining with longing while battling to stay open. “I’m not going anywhere.” The teenager answered, leaning down to caress her cheek. “I’ll sleep on the sofa so you can have all the room you want.”

Slowly, Grace moved the locks of hair that were over her face and gave him a sheepish smile. “I don’t care where I sleep. As long as I have you with me, then It’s enough.” And for the coup de grace, she laid on her side, her arms extended towards the young man. “I get cold easily…”

Even when he wanted to damn her, her charms and his undying love, he just couldn’t. “Fine, you win. Make some space.” Akira sighed as he made his way into the bed. “I swear you always get away with this.”

“Because I tend to suggest the best course of action.” The older woman snuggled her boyfriend as soon as the cover went over their bodies. “You can consider this a “trial”, for the future.” She planted a kiss on his head.

Once he felt Grace’s body relaxing once more, he tucked his head just underneath hers and returned the embrace.

“Oh? Do you feel like getting pampered?” The raven-haired woman chuckled a little bit, tenderly caressing his head.

“Yeah.” He sighed. His vision was getting a bit hazy, his consciousness slowly drifting away cradled between the soothing scent and gentle touch of his lover. “I think I’m a little tired… myself…”

“Maybe winter isn’t so bad after all…”


	20. Those things I told you while you were asleep

_ Sojiro Sakura had seen his fair share of nasty things during his years of service. It was part of the job. The less pretty part of the job, but part of it nonetheless. Inescapable, inexorable. That’s why he felt somewhat relieved the day he resigned, thinking that at least he would be able to choose the least worrying of those things. _

_ But he had been proven wrong a couple of times. Including now. _

_ On LeBlanc’s door, a raven-haired woman stood. The café owner’s sharp eyes immediately picked up some unnerving signs on her face: Countless bags under her eyes, a pained expression on her lips, her hair was still wet and her whole posture indicated that she had been feeling like that for at least a couple of days. _

_ Those were the worst. Not because he felt bad for them, but because he had seen those so many times, that now, he acted not because of empathy or the goodness in his heart, but rather because he saw it as just another problem to be solved. And that made him wonder if his heart wasn’t already made of stone, with the occasional blood pumping now and then. _

_ “E-excuse me…” The woman whispered in an almost inaudible way. “I have an order of Korean Food for… Akira Kurusu.” Her voice trembled as the name escaped her lips. _

_ The tall man scratched the back of his head. “The kid, of course.” He let out a long sigh. _

_ A myriad possibilities passed through the old man’s head. If a broken up woman shows up at your doorstep asking for your protegé, it’s a very bad omen. If said protegé is also part of a group dedicated to fighting corrupt adults that’s just recovering from a suicidal stunt that left him dead in the eyes of the public, then that was a TERRIBLE omen. _

_ “I’m sorry.” Sojiro continued. “I’m afraid he’s not here at the moment. Do you need payment or is it already paid?” _

_ The woman took a couple of steps towards the veteran barista. “N-no, you don’t understand. He told me…. He told me to come.” The sadness and desperation was palpable in her tone. “I need to see him… I NEED TO… see his face again…” _

_ “I swear, the kid will be the end of me…” Sojiro whispered to himself as he rubbed his eyes. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but… He’s upstairs. Terribly beaten up, but I believe that he’ll be able to explain whatever he needs to explain to you.” _

_ A small smile passed like a flash on the woman’s lips. “Thank you… very much.” She did a small bow and quickly stepped towards the stairs on the back of LeBlanc. _

_ Once the café’s owner was sure that the impromptu visitor was on the second floor, he took his time to straighten up his impeccable hairstyle and clothing. In one of those extremely rare moments where there was no one else but himself in the shop, he laughed a little. “Good grief. An older woman who’s madly in love with you? You’ve actually learned a thing or two.” _

* * *

“No way!” Grace exclaimed whilst another spoonful of curry went into her mouth. “A traitor amongst your ranks? Within the Phantom Thieves?”

Akira caressed her hand with tenderness. A hand that had been interlocked with his since they had woken up from the deep slumber they sorely needed. “It sounds bad, but believe me when I say this: as a traitor, he sucked.” He took a spoonful of curry himself. “And that’s the main reason why you don’t ask about delicious pancakes in LeBlanc.”

“Pancakes…. really?” The older woman tried her hardest not to laugh at the statement.

“That’s right, pancakes.” The daring thief kissed her forehead. “So, did you like my explanation? Am I off the hook now?”

Her lips slowly approached the side of his face, and when she was close enough to be heard she whispered: “Don’t count on it.” As the last word left her lips Akira felt a quick kiss on his cheek.

The younger man faked a little pout and splurged himself over his loving girlfriend. “C’mon, Eun Hye… I’ve been beaten up enough already.” He nudged his head on her neck, searching for her soft spot. “Can’t you just let it slide this time?”

Grace left the spoon on her plate and returned the embrace with all the love she could muster. “No, I don’t think so.” Her words felt like daggers on his back. “If you think I will just forget the whole ordeal I’ve been these past two days, you got another thing coming.” And with one simple movement, she pulled her younger lover over the sofa they’ve been sitting on.

“You’re acting extremely affectionate for someone with a deadly grudge in her heart.” Akira tried to move from his resting position on her chest, but the raven-haired woman had an iron grip on him. “Is there something I‘m not understanding?”

“Perhaps I’m suffering from cognitive dissonance…” The older woman slowly caressed the young rogue’s head. “I’ve read that periods of extreme stress or traumatic experiences can trigger it.” 

The thieves’ leader sighed. It seemed that he was trapped on an endless loop thanks to a mental condition he had never heard of and the undying stubbornness of his loving girlfriend. But he knew better than anyone that if a problem couldn’t be tackled head-on, then it was time for a distraction.

“You haven’t told me which one is better.”

“Huh?” A sudden exclamation left her lips, a single instant of weakness that the master rogue used to his advantage to shift his position on the couch.

Face to face with the love of his life and her arms around his neck, it wasn’t really a escape per se, but Akira found himself with a lot more options than before. “Now that you’ve tasted Sojiro’s curry and coffee, you can tell me which one is better.” He watched her blink a couple of times, trying to process the whole situation without giving up her hold on him. “Has the student become the master? Or has he more to learn?”

“You want my honest opinion?” She asked as a small smile formed on her lips.

He nodded.

* * *

_ Grace woke up abruptly, a small shiver running down her spine. Thankfully, this time she managed to hold back the screams, tears, and even the sobbing. _

_ She felt the glacial hold depression had on her heart melt once again the moment her eyes recognized the unmistakable figure of her younger boyfriend, nestled between her arms. _

_ The raven-haired woman sighed. “Never scare me like that again.” She planted a kiss on his head with all the tenderness she could muster. _

_ The teenager didn’t even budge. He just kept latched onto her body, almost as if his life depended on it. _

_ Grace closed her eyes and slowly breathed in the scent of her boyfriend’s body. It still felt surreal to her, a small part of her brain still in denial that the person on her arms was alive. But the touch, smell, and even the heat coming from his body was proof enough that everything was real. The nightmare was over. _

_ Akira shuffled a little bit in his sleep, somewhat uncomfortable thanks to the tight grip the older woman was exerting over him without even realizing it. _

_ “Oh, sorry about that.” She whispered, freeing the teenager from the love prison of her arms.  _

_ Once the rogue felt himself free of any hold, his body shuffled around some more until he found the perfect position to continue his deep slumber. _

_ With care, Grace moved a lock of his messy hair that fell just above his eyes, and slowly tucked it behind his ear. “So, it’s true that under all that messy hair a charming daredevil dwells. I feel somewhat relieved knowing that I’m-” Her phrase was cut short the moment that the unmistakable feeling of a full bladder interrupted her thoughts with the speed of a bullet train. “Right… I was wondering when this dreaded feeling would return. Crap.” The older woman cursed mentally. _

_ It was only natural. In her depressed state, barely anything fazed her. Now that her emotional state was slowly recovering, her other feelings and needs would also come back to her wherever she wanted it or not. _

_ The Korean hacker analyzed her current situation. Tucked underneath the sheets, close to her younger boyfriend inside the glorified attic of a coffee shop with a full bladder. On top of that the bed where both laid was flimsy and unreliable, who knew when it would fall? Yep, the deck was stacked against her. _

_ But if there was someone who could achieve such an escape, it was her. _

_ “I already infiltrated and exfiltrated a top-notch, secret server facility of the South Korean Army with no help.” Grace encouraged herself. “Getting out of this bed without waking up my boyfriend should be easy enough.” _

_ Slowly, the raven-haired woman proceeded to execute what could very well be a life or death maneuver. The incredible coordination between her hands, limbs and even how she paced her breaths made it clear that all those years of training would never fade from her mind. _

_ Soon enough, and after a grueling exercise of patience and skill, she found herself free of the bed and into the room once more. _

_ Her eyes scanned the attic searching for some pieces of clothing. When she found her boots lying near the edge of the bed, a small groan escaped her lips. “Boots. High heeled boots. Fan-tastic.” _

_ While it was true that those shoes were the last thing Grace Nam would ever think of using and, by extent, the best choice for a disguise, now that she was in dire need of something comfortable those same shoes only meant an incredible amount of pain for her feet. _

_ After pinching her temples with some anger, Grace scooted over to the sofa where her purse rested. With quick hands she located her cellphone, but sadly, no trace of another pair of shoes. _

_ “Nice one, Grace. What a great asset you are, miss hacker. What’s next, no keys for my apartment?” The Korean woman sighed with relief once she found her keys inside the purse alongside some other vital things she needed in her daily life. “Well, at least I will be able to open my door. Even if my feet end up destroyed in the process.” _

_ With a single movement she unlocked her phone and opened the frontal camera. It pained her a little bit to see her face right now, with all the dark circles under her eyes, the terrible bed hair and the shaky makeup she had managed to apply in her depressed state, but it was better than nothing. It served its purpose, and when she arrived back home, everything would be all right once again. _

_ She turned off the camera and tucked the cellphone once more in her pocket. “Let’s see, I only have socks on my feet. My eyes, hair… my whole face looks terrible and I need to go to the bathroom that’s conveniently located on the first floor of the café.” Grace shrugged. More to herself than anyone else, but it still counted. “Fuck it, I’m going in.” _

_ In her mind, an empty bladder was better than appearing as a normal human being to the patrons of some small café in Yongen-Jaya, and that was everything she needed. With a steady heart she descended the wooden stairs, ready to accept her social execution. _

_ Luckily for her, once she arrived at the café she realized that public humiliation was never on the menú. Because the only person inside, besides her, was the owner: Sojiro Sakura. _

_ The sudden encounter between the two adults was awkward to say the least. To Sojiro, she appeared as the woman that a few hours earlier almost broke down crying in his shop, asking to see the teenager that had been placed under his care. To Grace, he was the fabled owner and somewhat strict coffee and curry master Akira had mentioned quite a few times during their conversations. Each one a rumor to the other. A shadow residing in a corner; invisible, silent. _

_ That’s why, even when a few minutes had passed since both made eye contact, no one dared to say a word. _

_ “T-Toilet.” Grace decided to speak, almost in a hush, while her hand pointed to the small cubicle at the side of the stairs. _

_ The tall man suddenly snapped out of his dumbfoundedness. “A-ah, sure. Please, go ahead.” _

_ And, with the same silence with which she had appeared, she vanished into the restroom. _

_ A few minutes later, the distinct sound of flushing water was the telltale sign of finished business. The raven-haired woman slowly peeked out of the door, looking out for any other patron or potential threat to her dignity. _

_ “Don’t worry, there’s no one here. Just you and me.” Sojiro spoke from his usual site behind the counter. “Besides, I know my clientele. There won’t be anyone else for at least a couple of hours.” _

_ Grace sighed with relief, stepping outside of the restroom while drying her hands on a piece of toilet paper. _

_ Once her hands were dry, and the paper safely disposed of, she took a deep breath and looked at the man at the other side of the counter. _

_ Up until now, she wasn’t able to realize certain things thanks to her depression. Things like: How tall Sojiro was. He was  _ **_tall_ ** _. Even more than Akira. For a second Grace cursed her average female asian body, but she quickly forgot about it. Because her boyfriend loved her just as she was. Average or not. _

_ “So… ummm…” It wasn’t easy to talk with the person that a few hours earlier decided not to ask any questions and just let you pass, but it was something she had to do. “I… wanted to thank you, Sojiro-san.” _

_ The café owner stood still for a few seconds, processing the whole situation. When his mind reached a conclusion he deemed acceptable, he laughed a little bit. “Don’t worry about it. If anything, I should be thanking you.” _

_ Grace stared at him with disbelief. “What?” _

_ Sojiro gave her a little smile as he scratched the back of his neck. “I really mean it. You could’ve just thrashed the boy up and down the whole café if you wanted to, but you didn’t.” _

_ “I-Is that so?” She tried to laugh but it came out somewhat broken. “Well… I just wanted to hear what he had to say. Besides, I think that someone already thrashed him more than enough.” _

_ “So you knew, huh?” The man caressed his goatee with care. _

_ The korean woman smiled with sadness. “It’s part of the job. It always is.” _

_ This time it was Sojiro’s turn to stare in disbelief. Those words resonated deep within his mind. “S-say… by some chance have you worked for the government in a previous job?” _

_ That simple question was enough to perk up every single soldier instinct that laid dormant inside Grace. “That’s quite the question, Sojiro-san. Why would you want to know such a thing?” Her voice was as cold as ice. _

_ The older man slowly changed his posture. From the carefree and somewhat uninterested owner of LeBlanc to a rather serious and cunning man that gave off a very ominous aura. “Let’s just say my previous job taught me a few tricks. We government dogs are quick to identify each other.” _

_ An almost imperceptible grin formed on the lips of the Korean hacker. “Now THIS, this is unexpected.” She stepped towards the counter and slowly seated on one of the stools in front of the owner. “Let me take a wild guess… Government Official?” _

_ Sojiro smiled with confidence. It was a way to confirm her suspicions without acknowledging the question. “And for you… let me think.” He scratched his head a few times, trying to look somewhat troubled for a question whose answers he already had. “Military… but not just any branch. If I had to choose, I would say…” _

_ “707.” Grace answered, quick as lightning. “And that’s everything you’re getting out of me, Sojiro-san.” _

_ The tall man shrugged, a smug smile on his lips. “Fair enough. Care for a cup of coffee and a plate of curry, miss…?” _

_ “Nam. Grace Nam.” She tried to fix her hair a little, but it was in vain. “Just… call me Grace.” _

_ “Duly noted, Grace-san.” Sojiro left the counter and walked over to the curry pot. “Say, does the kid know about your past?” _

_ “He knows just enough to not get him into trouble.” Even though he already had contact with more than one Rainbow agent and was, by default, already in trouble. “How about your secret?” _

_ With expert care and a masterful eye, the old barista served one plate of curry and one plate of coffee. Both equally warm and equally appetizing. “Same as you. And even if I wanted to tell him the whole truth, right now he has something else to do. Another fight to take care of.” _

_ She didn’t answer this time. Instead, she slowly put a spoonful of curry in her mouth and proceeded to chew it down. “Oh… Sojiro-san… this is delicious! No wonder Akira-” _

_ “Wait until you’ve finished it all, ok?” Sojiro interrupted her. “Anyway, do you have some time to talk? I’m Akira’s legal guardian after all. I need to make sure he stays out of trouble.” _

_ This time Grace was able to laugh wholeheartedly. “Sure, I think I can spare a little. I just hope that you’re not doing this to get national secrets out of me, Sojiro-san.” _

_ “Don’t worry, that was my former job.” _

_ She nodded, enjoying another spoonful of curry. “So, where do I start?” _

* * *

“Really?” Akira’s eyes seemed to sparkle for a single instant.

“Yeah. It’s that so hard to believe?” Grace chuckled at his childish expression. “Now don’t get me wrong, Sojiro-san’s curry is amazing and especially tasty, but yours…”

The young man snuggled against her chest, waiting for some terrible comment or another one of those: ‘You’re good, but you still need more practice’.

“I like yours more because every time I eat it I feel like it’s for me.” She caressed his head with all the love in her heart. “When you make curry I feel like you make it for me and me alone, and I love that. I love your curry. I love  **you** .”

Akira stood still for a moment, listening to the beating of her heart. “Maybe it is like that. The Boss created it based on a scientific formula. I just took it as a base and modified it. Perhaps I ended up tweaking it enough to suit your palate more than anyone else.”

Slowly, the teenager saw himself back into a loving embrace that acted as both a hold and a gesture. “What’s your big idea, eh? Giving me a heart attack?” She gave him a quick peck. “Is that what you want? Making me love you so much that I just can’t take it anymore?”

“That doesn’t sound so bad… except, you know… the whole dying thing.”

Suddenly, the master rogue felt her hands pulling his head closer to hers. Separated by mere inches, Akira could clearly see in her eyes the frustration and anger she had been building inside for the past two days. But he could also see the raging spark of her love. A love so powerful that it could easily outmatch the other two feelings.

“Now listen, and listen well. I don’t want to hear or find out that you went out there on a suicide mission without telling me. Is that clear?” The indignation on her tone was palpable.

“You know I can’t do that. I could never put you in danger.” He answered softly.

“It’s not about putting me in danger, Akira! It’s about not giving me the chance to help you! Do you think I care about the danger? To hell with it! If your life is on the line, then I’ll do whatever is necessary to help you succeed.”

“You’re already helping me. You do it all the time.” The teenager touched her forehead with his.

“Why are you so stubborn? Is your pride so big that you won’t allow anyone else to shoulder your burdens?” Tears started to form on the corners of her eyes.

With a gentle hand, the younger of the two carefully dried her tears before they could fall to the couch. “It’s not about pride, Eun Hye. It’s about you being my priority above all.”

Grace gave her lover a quick kiss on the lips. “What makes you think you’re not my priority too?”

“Oh, I know. But I’m the one that’s already on probation.” He retorted back, earning a chuckle from his girlfriend.

Her fingers slowly caressed his head, looking to soothe the scars left by countless hours of physical and psychological torture. “Look, Akira. I know that suicide missions exist. I would be a hypocrite if I hadn’t volunteered for one or two in my career. But the thing is… that I’m not saying: ‘Don’t go’. I’m just asking: ‘If you really have to go, then take me with you’.” Her smile this time was filled with love. “A world without you isn’t worth living in. So don’t push me away. I want to be your backup, not just your girlfriend.”

The Thieves’ Leader hugged his older lover with every ounce of strength he still had in him, his face buried just below hers. “I love you, you know? I don’t mind spoiling you.”

Grace kissed the top of his head as she continued her caress. “That’s good to know. Perhaps now I won’t feel so guilty every time you feed me.”

“Can you stay a little longer?” Akira asked in a whisper.

“You don’t have to ask twice.”

“Just a little nap…”

“Hey.. Akira? At least let’s move to the bed before…”

The soft sounds of her sleeping boyfriend were the only answer left lingering in the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swore to myself to never use song titles as chapter names. But no one will know if the song is in another language. Unless you know this reference, if so, we're now fucked you and me.


	21. Like Snowflakes in the Sunlight

_ G: Hey there, 자기야. Rough day, eh? _

_ G: So, anyway. Guess what? It’s Christmas Eve! Asian countries tend to have a different approach to this holiday in particular, so… _

_ G: How about we spend some time together? You know, like lovers do. _

_ A: I would like that very much _

_ G: Great!  _

_ G: Let’s meet in Shibuya. I’ll be at the station. _

* * *

“For someone who calls himself a Phantom Thief and works in the shadows, you’re surprisingly reluctant to use underhanded techniques.”

The small chime atop LeBlanc’s entrance sang the moment Akira slowly closed the door, keeping the cold and any unwanted visitor outside of the small establishment. “Eun Hye, you wanted to hack into the reservation system of a restaurant just because they didn’t have any spot for us.”

The older woman pouted at her boyfriend’s scolding. “And you should’ve let me do it. I mean, what’s the big deal? It’s a special occasion and it would’ve been nice to eat in a fancy place.”

“It is a big deal because: A) Doing so would mean stealing someone else’s spot. And most probably they also thought of having a special time, just like us. And B)...” He stepped towards his girlfriend and slowly drew her into a loving hug. “This is a special occasion not because of where we go, but because I’m with you.”

“You always know what to say, eh?” Grace sighed as she returned the gesture. “Let’s go somewhere more private, ok?”

Akira nodded.

However, as they slowly climbed up the stairs, the Thieves’ Leader felt like his heart was being torn apart. He knew that this was the last day he would be able to see his love. The last moments before he gave himself up to the authorities. And even when he knew he was choosing the only way that allowed his companions, his confidants and most importantly, Grace, to get out of the radar; even then, he felt like he was betraying the only person in the world who would give her life for him without thinking it twice.

But he had to do it. He had to surrender. It was the correct thing to do. One life in exchange for the freedom of countless others.

Once both had finally settled down on the sofa as they usually did, Grace stretched her limbs a little. “Aaaaaaaaah, I’m so tired. But look at the bright side, we finally made it to the end.” She smiled at the young man. “Congratulations on your successful mission, Mr. Phantom Thief.”

The teenager chuckled a little bit. “Merry Christmas to you too, Eun Hye.”

“Do you take pleasure in ruining the moment?” She crossed her arms, pretending to be angry.

Akira carefully leaned onto her shoulder. “Only when I’m with you.”

“That’s cheating…” Grace whispered.

After that last sentence, the hours went by. Between their lively banter and their little shows of affection, the evening reached its end without the pair even noticing.

“Ah, that’s right!” The older woman exclaimed, somewhat startling her younger lover with the sudden outburst. “I have a present for you.”

Grace quickly rummaged through the insides of her bag, and after finding what she was looking for, she presented a small box to her boyfriend.

“You really shouldn’t have, Eun Hye…”

“Oh no, you’re not gonna get rid of this that easily.” She procured a small envelope from her pocket. “Not after all the trouble I went through to get it.”

Akira threw his hands up in defeat. He tried to reach for the box, but before he could touch it, the older woman snatched it out of his grasp, offering the envelope instead.

“I guess I have to read this first?” He arched an eyebrow, somewhat amused.

Grace nodded. “That’s correct. What I’m giving you is something so special, that to really understand it, you must read what’s on the envelope first. And after you have read what’s inside, give it back to me. That’s how special it is.”

The master rogue slowly grabbed the envelope. “Is this a gift or a riddle?” He slowly opened the envelope.

“That’s on you. It’s whatever you want it to be.”

After the letter was out, the Thieves’ Leader proceeded to turn his eyes to the writing on it.

_ “To Kurusu Akira-san: _

_ It is with great pride and gratefulness that we present to you (handed by one of our former and most brilliant operators) the first and only award this institution will ever give to a third party. _

_ For gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, for saving the life of a member of our team without asking anything in return, we award you the title of Rainbow Member Honoris Causa. Please, accept this gift, from all of us here at the base. _

_ We will be forever thankful for your actions and determination. _

_ Six” _

Akira couldn’t stop reading the last lines over and over again. Once his mind was able to process what they meant for him and his girlfriend, he slowly looked at the woman beside him.

She was smiling. Not with her usual smug or sadness, it was a smile full of pride and love. It was the smile of someone who loved him more than anything in the world.

“What I have here is a one-of-a-kind present for the man that saved me.” She slowly opened the box in her hands. “Just as there’s only one Akira Kurusu in this world, there’s only one award like this in existence. And it’s the one I’m handing to you right now.”

Inside the box there were three things: Two patches, one of the Japanese flag, another one that only read ‘Kurusu A.” and the last one was a small star, with a blue ribbon and an inscription at the bottom that read:  **_“In Tenebras Lux”_ **

That moment, that entire moment was surreal to the teenager. Not only he had been nominated as an Honoris Causa member of a secret organization he didn’t even know existed until a few months ago, but his girlfriend also had procured something that materialized his reckless act to save her even if he forfeited his life in the process.

He tried to speak, but no words came out of his mouth. Grace, sensing his astonishment, slowly deposited the box on his hands while taking back the letter.

And he understood that no words were needed. With care, he closed the box, and after putting it somewhere safe, Akira hugged his older lover with everything he had.

“Merry Christmas, my hero.” She whispered in his ear.

But what Grace didn’t know, and it was something that the teenager was infinitely thankful for, was the increasing guilt and pain growing constantly in his heart. If she knew, if only she knew what was about to happen. What would happen once the next day arrived, how they would be separated once more, it could be devastating. And so he only kept latched onto her, trying to silence his thoughts and doubts. Reassuring himself that he had to protect her, his friends and confidants. Every single person that believed and helped him.

Because that’s what a leader does. And if only one had to fall, then what better than the infamous Leader of the Phantom Thieves.

“Is everything alright?” The question burst the little bubble he had created with his negative thoughts.

Without even realizing it, Akira was trembling. It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but Grace was keen enough to pick up even the slightest change in his body language. And that skill was even more effective when the two were glued to one another.

“It’s nothing. I’m just a little tired, that’s all.”

The older woman separated herself a little from him. “Are you sure? I already told you, whatever it is, I’ll help you.” She looked at his eyes.

He smiled. It was fake and forced, but even so, he smiled with everything he had. “No, don’t worry. It has been a very long day and I’m a little tired. Nothing more.”

But the korean woman was too good at reading the mood. She could read his facial expressions like an open book. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. After everything that’s happened, anyone would be tired.” It was her way of telling him that she wasn’t going to press if he wasn’t willing to trust her. “Maybe it’s better if I go now.”

The feeling of letting his lover go hurt like a thousand knives on his heart, but he had to endure it. Because if he broke down at that moment, there was no guarantee that he would be able to give himself in the morning.

“Let me walk you to the station.” Akira offered, as Grace gathered all of her things.

This time, it was her turn to force a smile for him. “No, don’t worry. It’s better if you rest.” She looked at him, her eyes shining with sadness and concern for his well-being. “I’ll see you tomorrow, ok?”

An answer. He had to answer. It was the least he could do for the woman who gave him her unwavering love and support. Even if it hurt more than anything. One more time, one last time, with feeling. “Sure. See you tomorrow.”

Grace nodded and climbed down the stairs.

Once the bells chimed one last time, Akira threw himself on the sofa. With that phrase, he had given his last goodbye before going to prison. There was nothing else to do except to wait for the inevitable.

With care, he took the box he had been gifted from the safe spot. It was a shining reminder of his actions, but also the burning memory of his lies.

Suddenly, something on the corner of his vision caught his attention. On the floor, near his feet, an envelope laid. The young rogue slowly picked it up. He carefully inspected its outside. There was no writing. No symbols, no stamps, no nothing. It was just a common envelope.

“This is…” He remembered.

It was the envelope that contained the letter Grace gave to him. The letter that she took back after handing him the box.

And then it hit him. If he couldn’t tell her with his words, then at least….

He stood up from the sofa and, with the box and the envelope in his hands, he went straight to his desk.

Akira Kurusu had one last mission. And this time, he knew what to do.

* * *

“We’re gonna save our leader, no matter what it takes!”

Sojiro Sakura saw the remaining members of the Phantom Thieves walk out of his little establishment in Yongen-Jaya, in their minds a mission and a fiery blaze burning in their hearts.

He felt proud of them, of their unwavering sentiment of camaraderie and loyalty to their fallen leader. Once upon a time, he also had that same feeling, the recipient was more or less different to what they had, but it was a noble sentiment nonetheless.

Right now, however, he had another duty. It was one he had reluctantly accepted, but one that he couldn’t really refuse. Not after everything one rowdy teenager had done for him.

The bell atop the entrance door sang once more, its little chime the herald of an unavoidable meeting.

“Ah, Grace-san. Welcome back.” The café owner smiled. “I was wondering when you would come.”

The familiar figure of Grace Nam appeared on the front door once again. Thankfully, she was in a much better shape than the last time Sojiro saw her. She was wearing another one of her beanies, a little more colorful, given the festivities, her glasses and a big and comfy coat to shield her from the terrible cold december came with. No high heeled boots this time, just a pair of sneakers. It was a lesson learnt with pain and suffering, and one that the korean woman would never forget.

“Good evening, Sojiro-san.” Her voice had a tint of sadness on it. “Say… by any chance were those…?”

The old man scratched the back of his neck with a smile on his lips. “Pretty much. Well… minus one, as you may know by now.”

It was obvious that someone with such a sharp wit and boundless intellect as Grace would be able to correctly discern that the group of teenagers that exited LeBlanc an instant before her arrival were nothing more than the Phantom Thieves. Sans their leader. Because she knew better than anyone who their leader was.

“So it wasn’t my imagination after all.” Grace sighed in defeat. It wasn’t the first time, and it probably won’t be the last she would do so.

“Care for a cup of coffee, miss?” The veteran barista pulled out a cup and saucer. “I know I can’t replace what you lost, but I’ll do my best to rise up to the occasion.”

“Thank you very much, Sojiro-san.”

As the raven haired-woman took a seat near the older man, the master barista took his time to delicately pour a cup of his best blend. It did so to give her time to set in and think. To put her thoughts and emotions in order.

“It smells delightful.” Grace took off her beanie and carefully caressed the cup in front of her, basking in the warmth that irradiated from it. “You know what’s funny? The last thing I said to him was… ‘I’ll see you tomorrow’.” She kept looking at the black vortex swirling inside the cup. Incapable of drinking from it, unable to let go her feelings of guilt.

Sojiro gave her a condescending look. “It’s been a long day, huh?”

“Longer than it should be.” At last, she decided to take the cup and sip a little bit of coffee. “And the worst…” Grace’s voice started to rise. Not enough to cause a ruckus, but just enough to startle the café’s owner. “The worst thing is that he managed to keep the promise he made to me. And not only that! There’s also a part of me that knows and understands he made the best choice possible.”

“He did what he thought was right.” Akira’s guardian tried to defend his actions.

The Korean woman sighed once again. “That doesn’t mean he had to do it. Maybe there was another way, why not just stop and think about it a little?”

“Grace-san, you know as much as I do that the government is a rabid beast.” A disgusted expression flashed on his face. “A rabid, and prideful beast. If you keep it inside a cage to starve, it’s just a matter of time before it breaks free and starts devouring whatever it can.”

She took another sip of coffee. “That’s a good analogy.”

A little smile flashed on the lips of the old barista “Thanks.” He cleared his throat after noticing how sheepish his expression was. “Anyway, the thing is, that the kid saw the same as you and me. And he chose to protect everyone. That was his duty as a leader.”

Grace hid her face between her palms. She knew it. She knew it better than anyone that Akira’s choice was the most logical one, the one that ensured minimal collateral damage. It was a decision born from all the goodness and sense of duty in his heart. But that didn’t mean she accepted it. In that moment and place, she was allowed to be a selfish and spoiled woman, and she was going to do so as long as it helped her aching heart.

The gentle sound of her cup being refilled gave the Korean woman the strength to abandon her impromptu tantrum. “I’m just going to say sorry now, because I feel like I'm going to need a lot of coffee to help me get through this.” She took a sip, heat and pain be damned. “And again… and once again he left me out of it! What good is all the skills in the world if I can’t help the one I vowed to protect?”

Sojiro cleared his throat once again. Grace looked at him with the eyes of someone who had just been interrupted at the peak of their monologue. “That’s not necessarily true.” He answered with a cocky grin on his face.

“And that’s becauseeeeeeeee…?” The woman asked in a mocking tone.

Slowly, like someone who brings light to a world of darkness, the older man took an envelope from the pocket of his apron. “Because, here is proof that the kid trusts you more than anyone else in the world.” He stretched his hand towards the Korean woman.

At first, Grace thought that everything was just a terrible joke. After the envelope remained before her eyes, on the hand of the café’s owner without even quivering, she understood that Sojiro Sakura would never do that kind of thing.

With shaky hands, she took the envelope from him. Once she had it directly before her, she inspected it. “Backup.” Grace read the word in a hush. It was written on the front of the envelope, in black ink by a steady hand. The hand of someone whose time had already run out but his mind had but a single goal.

The envelope wasn’t sealed. It was obvious Akira had trusted that whoever had it under its care, would refrain from opening or peeking its contents until it had reached her hands. Grace gulped. Even after all the complaints she had about his actions, the young rogue still managed to surprise her.

Slowly, almost in fear of tearing the paper, she took the letter out of the envelope and firmly settled her gaze upon the words written onto the pages.

_ “Eun Hye: _

_ Words cannot express how sorry I am for lying to you, but I’m confident that you more than anyone understands what I had to do. I know it’s a little bit late, and I hope you will forgive me for this someday, but I love you... ” _

The raven-haired woman stopped at that moment. Her already heavy heart was being assaulted by the feelings of love, anger, hate and helplessness she tried to repress since the morning, when she saw the news about the leader of the Phantom Thieves. She stood still, letter on one hand, the other covering her mouth, keeping her whimpers and cries inside.

Sensing her distress, the older man took the time to refill her cup to the brim with another serving of a perfect brew. “Take all the time you need. No one’s looking for you right now.”

Grace nodded. In her eyes the unmistakable gleam of gratitude towards the kind gesture.

It took her a while to start reading at a steady pace. Every word felt like a sudden stab and a gentle kiss on the lips, every sentence a blast of molten iron on her lungs followed by a sweet scent on her nostrils. But eventually she overcame the pain. Because she needed to see with her own eyes what the man she loved had to say for himself. What selfish reason he would use this time, what treacherous words he would write to appease her, how much pain he had to endure to stop himself from telling her in person the hell he was about to enter.

“I love you… always have. Always will.” She read in a hush to herself and smiled, recognizing the same phrase she had sent him on the darkest day of her life written almost at the bottom of the letter.

“I’ll take that this time the kid finally gave you an honest answer.” The tall man grinned just as a proud father does when witnessing his child standing up for itself.

A small tear fell on her right cheek, but Grace quickly wiped it away. “Yes.... yes, that’s correct. I think that this time…” She sighed once more, tears falling slowly as a smile full of love appeared on her lips. “This time I’ll allow it. Because we’re going to save him, isn’t it?”

Sojiro Sakura straightened himself, just as he always did when the matter required his full attention. “We’ll save him. Even if we have to tear this entire country down.”

Grace closed her eyes for a moment. “I won’t let him shoulder the burden alone. Not again.” When she opened them, the same fire Sojiro had seen on the kids’ eyes was burning, infinitely stronger. “This time, we fight back.”

The tall man sighed and let out a small laugh. “Perhaps it’s time to get in touch with a few friends…” He scratched the back of his neck. “Just like the old times.”

“Ah, that’s right. Sojiro-san…” The voice of the Korean woman interrupted his machinations. “Can I ask you a somewhat big, BIG favor?”

“Sure, but I can’t think of anything this old geezer could provide to someone with your talents, Grace-san.”

“Is there any chance that I could talk with Futaba-chan?”

Sojiro Sakura felt his blood pressure drop into the negatives for a single moment.

* * *

“Don’t try to stop me, Sojiro!” The high pitched voice of Futaba Sakura resounded throughout the small house in Jongen Jaya. “I’ll do whatever I can to help Akira!”   
  
“Hey, listen for a moment…” The old owner of the house tried in vain to convince the small girl to stop and hear his words. She was already stubborn before joining the Phantom Thieves. But now? Now she was unmovable. “I’m not trying to stop you, I just need to tell you that…”

The petite hacker ignored his last words and quickly slammed open the door to her dark abodes. It should’ve been fairly normal, if it wasn’t for the quiet figure of a certain woman, sitting in silence on the bed alongside the lit screen of her computer.

Futaba stood paralized on the entrance. The room was almost engulfed in darkness, but she was already used to it. That’s why the sudden appearance of another woman in there was even more shocking to the ex-shut in.

“Wait a minute… I know you.” The orange-haired girl squinted her eyes, the initial shock slowly drifting away from her mind. “Y-you are…!” An exclamation escaped from her lips.

“Futaba, let me explain. This person here is…” A sudden slap to his stomach made Sojiro bend in pain. The small girl had accidentally hit him right in the guts in her sudden realization.

“YOU’RE THE WOMAN THAT WAS WITH AKIRA THAT NIGHT!” Futaba shouted once more, the memories coming back as clear as a spring river. “IF YOU’RE HERE, THEN… THAT MEANS…!”

“F-futaba, can you listen for a minute here?” The old barista tried to get up, but his attempt was cut short when the small girl grabbed him by the neck and started to violently shake him.

“SHE’S A GOVERNMENT SPY.” Futaba shouted at Sojiro, earning her the dumbfounded stare of the man. “SHE WASN’T ASKING FOR FOOD, SHE WAS TRYING TO GET INFO ON AKIRA.” She pointed a finger with violence towards Grace. “AND NOW THAT YOU GOT HIM BEHIND BARS YOU’VE COME FOR ME, ALIBABA. BUT YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE, YOU HEAR?! NEVER!”

Sensing that the conversation was going nowhere, Grace sighed with irritation. She stood up, and with a single movement, the raven-haired woman took a small tablet from her backpack. She did a few swipes on it and then, everything went dark.

Suddenly, the phones of the barista and the small hacker started to vibrate. The computer screen flickered wildly, quickly changing between the screensaver, multiple folders and files. The AC unit went berserk, turning itself on and off without anyone using the remote. The lights flickered and what seemed like a dozen alarms went off in the distance.

Futaba took her cellphone out of her pocket. A strange and grotesque creature on the screen alongside some text in a language she couldn’t read greeted her incredulous stare. Slowly, she looked at the woman in front of her. Her face had a smile filled with smugness and mischief.

A few swipes more, and everything went back to normal. No more lights flickering, the creature and the buzzing disappeared, the AC worked normally again. It was as if nothing had happened at all.

“Futaba Sakura, it’s a pleasure meeting you again.” The korean hacker tucked her tablet back into her bag. “I’m glad you remember me, but I’m afraid you’re a little mistaken about my intentions: I’m no spy at all. You see...” Grace slowly took her fake glasses off. “I’m here because of something important. It seems that we have a friend in common. A very, very good friend. One that is in dire need of help.”

The petite girl gasped in surprise. “You mean… Akira? Could it be… that you…?”

“Futaba-chan… can I call you Futaba-chan?” The woman asked.

Futaba nodded.

“Futaba-chan, this friend of ours… he told me about your skills. And you see,” Grace put her glasses on once more. “I also possess a very similar set of skills. Skills that right now could very well be the edge we need in this upcoming battle.” On her eyes a fiery blaze burned. A dangerous mix of valor, determination and mischief. “So that’s why I’ve come. I’m offering you the chance to upgrade your skills to the next level. To leave the kiddie playground behind, to go beyond your wildest dreams. I’m here to teach you… Cybernetic Warfare.” The korean hacker extended her arms to the side in a grand gesture.

The small girl was flabbergasted. She looked at Sojiro, trying to get some sort of confirmation that it wasn’t just her imagination or a prank. That everything was very real.

“She’s telling the truth.” The tall man was finally able to stand, still a little sore because of the attack. “I was trying to tell you that someone asked to see you. She’s Grace Nam, a very good acquaintance of Akira. And now she wants to help you. Accept it or not, it’s your call. Not mine.”

Futaba’s eyes avoided the woman in front of her. “A-are you sure that I'm worthy of that chance?” She shuffled awkwardly on her spot. “I’m not really sure I’m the best choice.”

The raven-haired woman smiled with kindness. She heard that one before. More than once. “Listen, Futaba-chan. I know it’s hard to believe you have what it takes to accept this offer. But…” She slowly put her hands over the shoulders of the small girl. “You need to believe that you have what it takes. You have to believe in yourself.” Futaba’s little eyes made contact with Grace’s eyes. The older woman could see the traces of insecurities and past experiences still shining deep inside them, but that only meant she would have to work harder to ensure her younger protegé learnt about her inner strength. “Believe, because Akira also believes in you. And not only him; Sojiro-san, your fellow companions, your friends, and also… me. I believe in you. Not because Akira told me to, but because I see in you the foundations of something great, something grand. So I’m willing to take every single risk to see your potential bloom to its fullest. So, what do you say? Shall we help Akira, together?”

Tears started to form in the corners of Futaba’s eyes. “Y-yes. I would like that… v-very much.” She clumsily wrapped her arms around the older woman, a gesture that Grace returned with as much tenderness as she could. “C-can I call you ‘big sister’?”   
  
The raven-haired woman laughed a little bit. “Of course, there’s no problem. We’re almost a family at this point, isn’t that so, Sojiro-san?”

“Good grief.” The old man sighed trying to appear bothered, but the wide smile on his lips betrayed his intentions. “At this rate, I’m afraid to receive a sudden call from an old friend. But that’s alright. This little family can get a little bigger still.”

“Wait, YOU CAN SPEAK JAPANESE PERFECTLY?!”

“Oh, that’s right…”


	22. Rivers Run Red on Valentine's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roses are red  
> Violets are blue  
> Your phone is ringing  
> Let me get that for you

_ “Can I ask you one last thing, Kurusu-kun?” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ That was the second time Sae Niijima, ex-prosecutor and sister of Makoto Niijima, had asked the same question. This time, however, her tone was decidedly different. It was lower, almost as if fear dragged it down into the shadows. _

_ It didn't help that the conversation was taking place inside a Juvenile prison, with a glass wall between the two of them, but that definitely wasn’t the reason for the sudden terror in the voice of the lawyer.  _

_ “Sure.” The raven-haired teen answered once more. _

_ The tall woman quickly eyed her surroundings, as if she wanted to make sure there was no one who could hear them. “By any chance do you know someone who’s maybe too good with computers?” _

_ It was a silly question under normal circumstances. But Akira knew that it was inherently pointing towards one of the Phantom Thieves. Or… at least that was what he thought. “D-does this has to do with the Phantom Thieves?” _

_ Sae slowly approached the glass, a scared look on her face. “I don’t know, at least, not with what I was able to investigate. Look…” She sat on the chair she had left a few minutes ago, her nails faintly tapping on the surface of the metal table. “I told you that we were able to get you out thanks to the appearance of the woman Shido had assaulted, right?” _

_ The teenager nodded. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Well… the thing is… that there were other people. People that were linked to Shido, who worked for him, accepted his bribes or just worked under his minions.” The woman sighed, the conversation was obviously taking a toll on her. “Remember those who tortured you in the interrogation cell?” _

_ Akira flinched a little. Those scars took a long while to heal. The physical ones, the psychological wounds were still healing. “Yeah, is this about those guys?” _

_ Sae’s eyes seemed to look at the void for a few moments before going back to the young rogue. “Someone took the time to dig every single bit of dirt about those guys and made sure the entirety of their sins were exposed to the public. Not only in Japan, but WORLDWIDE.” Akira felt the blood freeze in his veins. “I don’t know if you understand the extent of what I’ve just told you, but let me explain: The lives of those men were over the moment those files were exposed to the world. The torture, the shady orders, the corruption, the crimes… everything. Their faces were on every single device that could connect to the internet, their names were on every single message and email. Do you understand?” Her eyes were wide open, trembling in fear. “Torture is a crime. It’s not only on Japan’s legal code, but also in every single international treaty. Torture of a MINOR, however, is even worse. I can only say that one of those men had to be put in Suicide Watch. The others were too broken to attempt anything.” _

_ At first the Thieves’ Leader thought about Futaba, but after hearing the level of ruthlessness involved in the cases, he discarded the idea. Only one name remained in his mind, only one person was able to enact such a punishment. But he refused to speak its name. Innocent until proven guilty. “Was that all?” He asked, his voice cracking a little bit at the end. _

_ “Far from it.” The silver-haired woman answered quickly. “Those men were only the start of an even bigger purge. We only saw the smoke when the inferno was already burning high. After that, your friend started following the chain of command. Whoever had dirt on themselves ended up burning in a pire. A wickerman made entirely of burning people. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but, if the former chef of the investigation unit, my former  _ **_boss_ ** _ were still alive, he would’ve taken his own life without thinking it twice. That’s the extent of what happened.” _

_ “Something tells me this isn’t the end of the story.” Akira lowered his gaze, unable to keep staring at the frightened visage of a former prosecutor. One that had been once proud of being unbreakable. _

_ Sae’s nails started tapping faster. “You’re correct. That was far from the end. Under normal circumstances, it would’ve taken years to gather all the evidence to put Shido on trial. But then… this person attacked again. Mails were leaked, account balances, text messages, even video recordings. There wasn’t a single spot left unchecked. If someone had made any deal with Shido, even if it was a one time thing, made under threats or whatever, it got out. The day a whole bunch of Yakuzas entered the Tokyo Police Station asking for protection was the moment I understood that Shido had made a powerful enemy. More powerful than you, me, the police, or even the Phantom Thieves.” The woman on the other side of the glass lowered her head. “We got all the evidence we wanted, but at what cost? At the end, only ashes remained of Shido’s crime imperium. Human, corporation, hacker or criminal. No one was spared. No sin went unpunished.” _

_ Akira didn’t want to admit it, but if his willpower were a little bit weaker, his teeth would’ve been clattering non-stop. But he kept his wits intact, just as he had done against a literal god of order. _

_ “That’s why…!” Sae suddenly slammed her hands against the metal table, startling the young thief on the other side. “That’s why I ask of you, Kurusu-kun, please BE CAREFUL. I know that person wanted to help you. I know that every single action was born of the willingness of taking every criminal to court with enough evidence to get them on trial, but… but the means…! Just… take care, ok? Enjoy your freedom.” _

_ With those last words, Sae Niijima promptly left the former Phantom Thief alone in the room. Akira took a few moments to forcefully dislodge his hands that were frozen clutching his knees. _

_ The Dokkaebi is not only a mythological creature in Korean folklore. It’s a legendary trickster, its magic beneficial or extremely harmful to humans. But the part that most people tend to forget, is that the Dokkaebi is also associated with the grim reaper. The very same trickster that likes to prank and help in equal parts is also the embodiment of death. And nothing could be closer to the truth right now for Akira Kurusu. _

* * *

**G: The VIP has been safely released, mission accomplished.** **  
** **G: Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you’re Ok. Tomorrow’s a big day after all. Do you mind if I come around after work?** **  
** **G: There are some things I need to speak with you… VERY important things.**

**A: Absolutely, Eun Hye.**

**G: Great! I’ll see you tomorrow then. Sleep well, 자기야.**

“Is everything alright, kid?”

The soothing voice of his mentor brought Akira Kurusu back to reality.

“Yes, I was just thinking about something.” The ex-thief took back the pot he was scrubbing until a few moments ago and started cleaning it again. “I think… I got caught amidst the reverie. Freedom is still new to me.” He let out a small laugh.

Sojiro Sakura sighed with a warm smile on his lips. “Yeah, the fresh air can get to your head pretty quickly.”

The old barista eyed the café. On the back, his protegé and almost a son, Akira Kurusu, was scrubbing the last dishes of the day; on the booths, Futaba, his adopted daughter, played with Morgana, enjoying the peace and quiet of the closing hours. He let out a small sigh, the calm and peaceful scene almost too much for his mind after the tumultuous months he had to live.

But something didn’t elude his sharp gaze. The young rogue was anxious about something. It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but Sojiro had been trained to pick up even the most minimal of signs. Now it was a question of knowing the source of his restlessness.

The former agent's mind went through a vast list of possibilities until, by some miracle, he remembered the date.

“Oh right. Today’s Valentine’s Day. No wonder there were so many guys bringing girls in here.” Sojiro exclaimed in the most casual way he could muster. The ice had to be broken slowly, with surgical precision unless he wanted another calamity to unfold inside LeBlanc. “Don’t you have anything exciting happening? I mean, you’ve been here nearly a whole year.” Akira finished the dishes and quickly dried his hands on his apron. “Y’know, when I was young, hoo boy…”

That last phrase was good. Pretty good if the older man had to judge it himself, but, for some reason, the teenager still had his back towards him, as if he was bracing for an inevitable impact.

The thought vanished quickly from the master barista’s mind the moment he heard the chime sing alongside the opening of the entrance door.

“Good evening Sojiro-san, Futaba-chan…” A small silence lingered for a moment. “Akira-kun.”

In the entrance, the now usual figure of Grace Nam stood. For some uncanny reason, she had decided to leave her beanie at home and instead chose to don a simple but somewhat fancy attire for the occasion. A mixture of black and deep blues helped to highlight Grace’s discreet but very cute factions. Her face was a shining beacon of love and warmth, even more so with a pair of big, round glasses that accentuated her expressive eyes.

Sojiro took a quick glance at Akira. The young man hadn’t even budged from his position. There was something in the air, and it wasn’t just love…

“Big sis Grace!” Futaba’s shout broke the frigid air like a thunder cleaves the atmosphere in two. “You came! Why didn’t you tell me you were going to visit today?”

The petite girl threw herself onto the arms of the older woman, who in turn spun her around with all the care in the world. “I’m also glad to see you again, Futaba-chan.” Grace carefully lowered the little girl onto the ground once more and patted her head. “I hope you’ve been a good girl like I asked last time.”

The orange haired girl nodded with enthusiasm. “I’ve been a good girl. I haven’t hacked into anywhere that can trace me back.” She pumped her arms with energy. “Not until you teach me how to be a ghost.”

Grace smiled with something akin to pride mixed with uneasiness. “That’s my little sis. Remember: Baby steps.” She patted the orange tinted head once more and quickly turned over to the old agent behind the counter. “Glad to see you fine and dandy as always, Sojiro-san.”

“I’m a tough guy. A little bit of torture is nothing.” He caressed his prized goatee with a smug smile on his face. “Pretty fortunate of us to have you tonight. Do you have an appointment?”

The raven-haired woman smiled as a small laugh escaped her lips. “Perhaps. Although, I can’t have a special evening all by myself.” Her eyes quickly focused on the young man at the back of the café. “Say, is the shift over yet?”

It was time. His name had been called, and so, he had to answer. Slowly, Akira turned around and faced the three people (plus one ‘cat’) in the room with a smile on his face. “That’s on my boss.” The young rogue stepped out of the kitchen and stood just beside the booths at the other side of the counter. “It’s okay if I end my shift now, boss?”

Sojiro sighed and laughed a little bit. “Ohhh… you should’ve just told me.” He exchanged a quick glance of complicity with Futaba who was watching the whole scene unfold with a smug grin on her face. “Here, I’ll leave the store to you.” As he walked out of his usual spot he gave the petite hacker a small nod that signaled their cue to exit from the stage. “Enjoy yourselves...”

The orange-haired girl carefully picked up Morgana and followed her adoptive dad’s footsteps out of the café. “Go get him, sis.” She whispered to the older woman.

“Eyes on the prize.” Grace whispered back

“So… the usual?” The young rogue asked as he lifted an eyebrow in amusement.

“That would be lovely.”

It only took a few minutes for the teenager to whip up two perfect cups of coffee over the table of a booth and the couple sat one in front of the other.

“And I thought I was too dramatic sometimes.” She sipped a little bit of coffee. “So, how’s the other side looking?”

Akira shuffled his hair a little bit. “I can’t complain. I surely don’t miss the stagnant air of a single cell.”

Grace smiled, her eyes shining with a longing she had been restraining since the beginning of the whole ordeal. “I’m glad… Anyway, I have something for you.” She quickly produced an extremely fancy box of chocolates from under the table and carefully deposited it in front of her boyfriend. “I had literally zero idea of what to get for you. I mean, you never mentioned your favorite sweets, or chocolate flavors, anything! So I had to make a few calls just to be sure.”

The young rogue eyed the heavy box in front of him. It was black with fine golden engravings. A red, long ribbon kept the package tightly and neatly closed. He gulped. “It is indeed a very big Valentine’s Day present, Eun Hye.”

A faint blush appeared on the cheeks of the older woman. “I-I mean… I know that handmade chocolates tend to carry that whole ‘lovey-dovey’ feeling a lot more than just buying them, but…” She fidgeted with one of her braids. “I hope you realize how much I love you.”

Akira laughed a little, something that his older lover returned with a smile. “I really appreciate the gesture, but I consider the chocolate to be an extra. Because tonight…” He shuffled his hair in a seductive way. “You’re the only thing I need in my life.”

“I hope I’m the only one who has heard those words from you.” The older woman answered, a fierce blush on her cheeks as she held back an extremely sheepish smile. “For your own safety.”

“You have my word.” He winked. “Also, thanks for taking care of Futaba. I am very, very grateful for that.”

“Eh? Oh, right…” Grace smiled with some sadness. “Don’t worry about that. You asked me a favor, just as I told you to do if you needed help, but… even if you hadn’t asked I would’ve helped.” Her eyes slowly trailed off to the cup in front of her. “Futaba’s an amazing child. She has a gifted mind and her soul is filled with a passion brighter than the stars. It’s only fair that we help her get back on track, after everything her poor heart has endured…”

“Even so, thank you. For the backup” 

A brief silence was felt inside LeBlanc, the coffee in the cups endlessly swirling.

“She’s just like you… like me.” The older woman let out a strained laugh. “And if I had to guess, the rest of the Phantom Thieves also have a dark past behind them. Isn’t that so?” She sipped a little bit of coffee.

Akira sighed with a smile on his lips. “We all have scars. We all have our wounds. But we wear them as badges, as trophies. They make us stronger, wiser. That’s what makes us human, what ties us together.” This time it was his turn to drink from his cup. “And that’s why I keep falling in love with you. Because you understand me as much as I understand you. It took a while and we had our rough moments and bumps in the road, but…” He sat back with arms crossed and a loving smile on his face. “I think it’s worth it. And I’ll do it all over again, juvenile prison and all included.”

“You’re going home next month, isn’t it?” Grace asked, sadness rising in her tone.

Her younger lover nodded.

She looked at the young rogue, the sadness mixing with the longing in her eyes. “Can I sit next to you?”

Akira quickly moved to the side, leaving more than enough space for the raven-haired woman. Grace quickly stepped out of her side and promptly sat at the side of her boyfriend.

The young rogue sensed how she squirmed a little bit on the booth, the telltale sign of something churning inside her mind. But before he could ask, Grace finally spoke.

“It was me.” She broke the silence with a phrase that felt like a thunder in the darkness.

Even if the normal reaction was to ask a question, Akira remained silent, for he knew all too well what Grace was implying.

Slowly, the Korean woman unbraided her hair, letting it flow naturally over her shoulders. “I was the one who took justice into my own hands.” She also took off her glasses. “Because… I couldn’t let it go.”

The former leader of the Thieves carefully eyed his girlfriend. The only time he had seen her without the braids **AND** fake glasses was when hope was almost lost in her apartment. It had been a radically different situation, so he hadn’t had the time to appreciate how different, how  **alluring** she looked like that. It was Grace Nam, the real Grace Nam, without any disguise or facade, just Grace.

“You went pretty hard on them.” He sipped a little bit of coffee. “But I completely understand your feelings. I’m guilty of thinking the same thing.”

“They were ready to go to any extent to take down the Phantom Thieves, ANY. I mean, what if the fuckers actually screwed up and ended up killing you during the interrogation?” She huffed, visibly agitated by the mere thought. “One simple mistake, one wrong dose of that drug, one more beating and you would have ended up really dead, isn’t that a crime? Am I wrong for wanting revenge?.”

Akira quickly took off his glasses and intertwined his hand with hers. “It’s ok, it’s alright. I understand, I would never judge you for this. Eun Hye.”

She sighed. “They had the means to bury your death, the people to make it look like a suicide. I couldn’t let it pass, I couldn’t let it go. Going as far as to kill a teenager? Those are the real monsters, those people deserve punishment. It reminds me of the kind of scum I used to fight against in my old job.”

“You didn’t kill them and you brought their crimes to the light, that’s a win in my book.” He kissed the top of her head.

“Thank you. I needed to tell you that, even if you ended up hating me forever.”

“I could never hate you. I didn’t when you almost threw me out of your apartment to protect me from the Korean army and I won’t hate you now for trying to enact some justice in my instead. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I hated the woman who saved me from juvie?”

Grace carefully leaned over his shoulder. “If you’re okay with that, then I guess that we can leave it behind now.”

With a careful hand, Akira slowly caressed her head. “That was the important thing you needed to tell me?”

“No.” The older woman quickly answered. “That was just something I needed to get out of my system before the important part.”

Those kinds of answers weren’t really unusual, but, as he had learnt in his days as a Phantom Thief, it didn’t bode well to have the whole “misguided justice” part before the really important stuff. Luckily, this time his fears were unfounded.

“You’re going back home next month, right?” He nodded at the question. “I know that we can live far away from one another, and I know that it would be temporal, at least until you graduate but… what if…” That last part left her lips almost like a whisper. “What if you could remain here, in Tokyo? What if you didn’t have to stay in your hometown until graduation?”

The younger man arched his eyebrows in surprise. “That’s… an oddly specific question. Is this the part about living together?”

Grace quickly abandoned the comfy position she had on the booth and positioned herself in front of her boyfriend, her hands on his shoulders, their faces close enough to feel their breaths. “I’m not joking. This is a serious question. No more secrets, no more fake glasses or changing your appearance and personality to throw off others. This is me, the  **real** me asking you this question: do you want to stay here, in Tokyo, with  **me** ?” Their foreheads touched, the contact of the skin feeling like electricity. “If you want it, if you are willing to fight, then… I’ll do whatever I can to help you achieve it.”

Akira felt the question like a burning noose over his neck. What was the correct answer? He already knew what “whatever I can” meant to Grace. It gave him shivers to think about it, but the thought of being apart from her was equally frightening, not because of a long distance relationship (their love was already too powerful to be broken by mere distance) but because if anything happened to them, the other would be too far to come to the other’s aid. What was worse; knowing what a woman like her could do for  **love** or risking an accident while away from the woman he loved? Difficult indeed.

“Do not think too hard…” Her mouth advanced towards his, lips slightly quivering as the words left her lips. “It’s love, this is about love. Living where you want to live, doing what you love with who you love… if your feelings are stronger than your fear, then… say it.”

He was melting, melting in the vortex of her eyes, composed of pure love mixed with lust, desire and longing, all of them towards him. Akira steeled his resolve, just as he had done countless times against foes several times more powerful than him, and finally spoke, almost in a hush.

“I want to stay here… with you, Eun Hye.” The young man relented.

“That’s all I need.” Grace answered as she kissed him with tenderness. “You thought you knew how deep an adult loves, but the truth is… that was just practice. Tonight, I’ll make you see what the extent of my love is.”

A gasp could be heard coming from his lips as her embrace and tender ministrations melted the very core of his soul.

* * *

_ “Hey there, it’s nice to hear you again.” _

_ “It’s late.” _

_ “Don’t give me that crap, you never sleep.” _

_ “… I’m busy. What do you need?” _

_ “Are you still up for some mischief?” _

_ “Am I allowed to ask what kind of mischief we’re talking about?” _

_ “The best kind, of course.” _

_ “That sounds awfully ambiguous. I’m in.” _

_ “Great. Ask Hibana too, I bet she’s eager to kick the system in the ‘nads a few times after the whole police fiasco.” _

_ “Oh, I’m sure she’ll accept gladly. Do you need the usual?” _

_ “That and maybe some spicy yokai action.” _

_ “Holy shit, you’re not joking about this, are you?” _

_ “I’m going all in.” _

_ “Alright, I’ll get some things rolling and then I’ll call you back to discuss the details, is that ok?” _

_ “Perfect, you know how to find me.” _

_ “It’s impossible to miss you, Dokki.” _

_ “Get some sleep, Echo.” _

_ “Sure. Smartass.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Well, the world is currently on fire, and here on my bunker, I'm still writing. I promised myself to finish this before anything happens to me, so, expect the rest in a somewhat faster rate than before, until then, be safe, be smart.
> 
> AN 2: Yep, it's tactical Rainbow Action. Dokkaebi goes in for the big prize. No one stands in the way of her love. NO ONE.


End file.
